Prey
by Kovu Wilde
Summary: Sequel to Zootopia: Nick's Secret. Nick's back... and he's brought a great threat to Zootopia. Judy Hopps tries to deal with the burden of a new partner, the threat of a terrorist group, and the return of an old friend. "We are Prey. We are strong if we stick together."
1. Chapter 1

A year. It had been a whole year since Judy had seen her fox friend. A year of not hearing his dumb jokes, of not getting annoyed at his way of turning her words around and throwing them back at her.

Officer Hopps drove slowly through the streets of Savannah Central, searching for any crime on her rather boring patrol. Zootopia had been quiet lately in terms of crime, something that made Judy proud. Yet when she lay in bed at night, all she could think about was how she missed the thrill of chasing criminals. It was satisfying and unsatisfying in one confusing bundle.

But what hurt her the most in these quiet patrols was the fact that she could think. When she was busy, she could forget. Some turned to unconventional methods of forgetting pain, but Judy found solace in work. But with the ZPD at its strongest, and Zootopia at its calmest, all the little bunny could do was think.

And that was dangerous.

She had never done well with separation, especially from those she cared about. Sure, leaving her parents and siblings was different. She could easily contact them at any time. But Nick knew how to disappear, how to blend in.

Judy would be lying if she said she didn't still have the note he gave her. He'd said she'd stolen his heart. Nick would have never said something like that without meaning it.

That raised another thought, one that confused the bunny intensely.

Did she feel the same way? Sure, she loved the fox... but as a friend? As more?

Judy wasn't sure she would ever make a decision on the matter, and the radio crackled to life as if agreeing with her.

"Officer Hopps," Clawhauser came in, the sound of crunching clearly audible. "We've got an armed robbery in progress at Lemming Brothers Bank." The sound of crunching continued, and Judy resisted the urge to cover her ears at the irritating sound.

"Got it. On my way."

"Be careful, Bun."

Judy rolled her eyes and turned her siren on, the lights of the police car flashing brightly. Barely a minute had passed before Judy found herself in front of the very bank being robbed. The bank's alarm was blaring so loud that even her police siren had trouble matching the volume.

Judy hopped out of the car and headed straight inside, staying aware of her surroundings. She stepped over the broken glass of the door as she surveyed the area.

She almost laughed at the sight, but instead went with an annoyed groan.

Duke Weaselton was standing in the middle of the bank, a variety of mammals on the floor as the scrawny weasel demanded money.  
"Really, Weaselton?" Judy sighed. "You know you're not a good enough thief to do something this extravagant."

"Shut it, rabbit," Weaselton spat, pointing his taser at Judy threateningly.

Judy took a glance at it and shook her head. "It's not even loaded, Duke."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

Judy confidently strode towards the weasel and snatched the taser out of his hands without a second thought.

"Duke Weaselton," Judy said, taking her cuffs out and tripping Weaselton as he tried to run away, "you are under arrest."

~Prey~

The door of Weaselton's jail cell closed heavily behind him, and the weasel simply sat on the metal slab that would be his bed for the time being.

Officer Snarlov stood next to Judy as the two mammals shook their heads at the sight.

"How many times are we going to have to arrest this guy?" Snarlov asked, scratching an itch under his chin.

"As many times as we need to before he realizes he needs to just get a job at Bug-Burga."

Snarlov chuckled at what the little bunny said as she walked out of the room and over to Clawhauser's desk, the polished wooden workstation covered in sprinkles as usual.

"Hey, bun bun," Clawhauser said, leaning over his desk to get a better look at Judy. "Good job nabbing that weasel."

"Yeah, for like the third time in the past four months. At this point, I'm tempted to ask the chief to 'lose' the key to his cell."

Clawhauser laughed and smushed his paws against his face as he said, "You're so bad, Judy."

"Hopps," called Chief Bogo from the upper level of the precinct. "My office, now." Judy said her goodbye to Clawhauser and headed to the chief's office immediately.

Bogo's chair creaked as he sat down in it and leaned back a little, a sigh escaping his lips.

"As rare as it is for me to say these things, Hopps, I just wanted to let you know that you've been doing a good job in your police work. Thanks to you, and my other officers of course, crime rate has gone down quite significantly. But, despite your great work on the force, I feel like we've waited long enough. You're getting a new partner."

Judy blinked. "What?"

"Your new partner will be here tomorrow. I'm sorry, Hopps. It's happening."

"You agreed that we would wait for–"

"Wait for Wilde to come back, and I did, Hopps. It's been a full year of nothing. I humored you for this long, but you need to realize that he is not coming back. We're lucky enough as it is the media hasn't been up our tails about our first fox officer being absent for so long. And with the kidnappings we managed to keep under our belt, that made things even more difficult." Bogo straightened a pile of papers and put them in a folder in one of his drawers.

"Chief Bogo, I don't need a partner. I've been taking care of things on my own."

"And now you'll be solving crimes and catching suspects even more efficiently. This discussion is over, Hopps. Now go home, you look tired."

Judy hung her head in disappointment and left the office, following orders and heading home.

~Prey~

The door to Judy's very spacious apartment opened silently as she lazily pushed it, only walking in when the door stopper prevented it from making a fresh dent in the wall. This had been Nick's apartment. And he had just given it to her like it was nothing, even going as far as to pay in advance for a small amount of time so Judy could get used to the price.

Judy closed the door behind her and collapsed on the couch, reaching for the remote and turning the television on, the movie from the night before ready to be replayed.

The rabbit let the movie start over, the ridiculous romantic comedy it was, and changed out of her police uniform, got a shower, and went back to her living room with a set of pajamas on. The movie was about to return to where it was before the bunny had fallen asleep last night.

Judy relaxed on the couch with a glass of carrot juice in her hand, sipping on it as she thought about her new partner. What mammal would he be? Would he be all business, or would he make Judy's patrols mildly more tolerable? She sighed as she thought about Nick again. Bogo was right. They'd all waited long enough, and Judy had never been the type to wait so long. Then again, she determinedly sped through school and police training just to achieve her dream of becoming a police officer. Nick was just one guy, one fox, one mammal. So why, after a year, couldn't she just forget about him?

She reflected on this as she drained the glass of juice and set it on the coffee table with a crisp clacking sound. It didn't take long for the officer to start nodding off, determined to finish the movie before she fell asleep. Yet, when everything went black, Judy wasn't sure if the movie had ended, or if she had given into her body's needs after another long, boring day at work.


	2. Chapter 2

The flood of mammals in the Zootopia train station filled the smiling vulpine with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. The shades that prevented anyone from seeing where his eyes wandered allowed him to scan all of the various species and sexes. Zootopia, the place where mammals never stopped being busy. The orange fur on the back of his neck shone in the setting sun, leaving the white on his stomach to face the city itself. Savannah Central was as beautiful as ever, the almost futuristic looking buildings making the fox's smile widen. He breathed in the fresh afternoon air and took a step, the first step towards the one mammal he was here to see.

But that would come later.

~Prey~

Nick Wilde waited at the door, a single paw in his pocket, the other holding his suitcase. His shades were now on top of his head, pinning his ears back, his piercing green eyes looking around the simple hallway of the hotel where his favorite mammal resided in. The door opened to an older looking woman, her tired eyes looking up at the young male before her. His eyes softened, and hers brightened. The woman flew towards the fox, embracing her son after so long of not seeing him in person. Nick patted the graying hairs on the top of her head as she squeezed her son tighter and tighter, tears playing at her eyes.

"You didn't tell me you were coming," she said, her voice cracking as she finally released her son, allowing him to breathe once more.

"Hey, mom," said the slim fox. "Sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise. You know I can't just do things the simple way."

"You could always come up with the most complicated things, even as a kid."

"Well, you can't give me all the credit. I had to get my raging smarts from someone."

Mrs. Wilde laughed and stepped back to allow her son in. For the past year, she had only gotten very rare, occasional updates from him so she could make sure he was okay.

The duo sat down at the simple wooden table as the apartment got dimmer from the ever-setting sun. Mrs. Wilde came back moments later with a plate full of food for her son. Nick's eyes widened as he watched steam gracefully rise from the veggies and rice.

"I'm afraid I don't have time to cook something new, so I hope you're okay with heated up leftovers," said Mrs. Wilde, turning around from the kitchen table she was wiping down to find Nick scarfing down the food.

"Are you kidding me? Leftovers or not, I haven't had your cooking in forever."

"No wonder you've gotten so slim. I don't know how you ever ate by hustling on those streets."

Nick was quiet as his mother finished wiping the table off and poured herself a cup of tea she had just finished brewing before her only son came a knocking. The mother stared at her dejected looking son as he awkwardly shifted in his seat.

"I don't live like that anymore, Mom, you know that. And besides, you never actually told me how you figured that out. Every time you asked, I just pushed it away."

"A mother knows, Nick. I'm proud that you got out of that life, I really am. I just wish you had told me you were living like that in the first place. Having to figure it out myself was much more painful. Now I know it's a bit late to be having this talk, but you never let me have it with you before." Mrs. Wilde sat in the chair adjacent to her son, and the young fox smiled up at his mother.

"I know, mom. But I'm turning my life around. That's why I'm back here. To start over...again. That year away did me good."

"I'm pretty surprised at you, Nicky. You haven't made a single clever joke this whole time. You lose your edge?" A playful smile tugged at her lips as Nick narrowed his eyes playfully back.

"Alright, old lady, why don't we whip out Mammopoly and I'll show you just how clever I can be."

"There he is," Mrs. Wilde said. "I'm glad you've at least learned to have these deep conversations a bit more willingly. I used to have to pry and pry to get you to tell me anything personal. Or am I the only lady you're gracing with this gift?"

"Well…"

"We talked about this, Nick. You should call her...unless you're planning on surprising her like you did me." And with that, Nick's mother winked and wished him a good night. Nick finished the food and washed his plate and fork thoroughly before placing them back in the cupboard. His hand lingered on the closed door of the cabinet that held these dishes and let what his mother said sink in. He knew he would have to face this, it was inevitable...It was part of the reason he'd come back in the first place.

Nick looked out at the night sky for a minute before pulling the curtains together, blocking any intrusion of privacy.

The fox walked into his old room, turning the light on, the room flooding with the dull yellow light. Everything was just as he had left it, and it was quite obvious that his mother had been dusting it regularly. Nick even rubbed the top of his dresser with his finger, and not a sign of dust was found.

"Always the hard worker," said the fox as he fell back on his bed, the springs groaning from the sudden weight after the long absence of it. Nick felt that same nostalgia that he'd experienced when he'd first gotten off the train. This was his room. The room filled with his memories from boyhood. He remembered all the nights he played board games with his mom, watched whatever his T.V. could pick up with the antenna that day. This was the room he'd spent many nights in, avoiding his mother's knowing eyes. The guilt of scamming people had weighed down on him so hard those first few nights. The dollar bills in his hands would become thin blocks of green cement.

This was the room where he'd lay awake at night and scheme and plan his next hustle. This was where he would try to cry in hopes of relieving some of the pressure he put on himself at times, but tears never wanted to come out.

And now here he was, a new fox, one who had gotten better at showing his true colors, all thanks to one little bunny—the bunny that he wanted to call so bad. But he couldn't. He needed to be patient. This would be his biggest job yet.

Nick took out his phone anyway and called a different number, listening to the monotonous ring of the pending call, waiting for his old friend to answer.

~Prey~

Judy blinked her eyes open as her alarm clock mercilessly blared from the coffee table, the wood vibrating violently from the endless torrent of reminders that she needed to go to work. She put her uniform on and looked in the mirror as she straightened her badge, wondering why she was no longer a morning person. Nick was never much of one either.

Maybe it was the apartment.

Still, Judy always felt so empowered when she looked at that badge in the mirror. Morning person or not, she would always leave her apartment with a sense of discipline on her shoulders. It felt good to have that.

Judy was at the precinct as fast as the taxi would allow her to get there, time not permitting her to walk to work like she usually did.

Judy walked into the briefing room of the precinct, straightening the tie she had hidden underneath her uniform. Her lucky tie for all it was worth. She didn't feel so lucky at the sight of the female white wolf sitting at Nick's usual spot.

Was this her new partner?

Judy felt the tie against her chest as she sat down next to the wolf, glancing up at her icy blue eyes.

"Hello," she said politely, extending her paw as she looked down at the rabbit. She wore a small smile, but there was a stern look to those terrifyingly beautiful eyes. Judy cringed inwardly as she shook the white wolf's hand. "Stacy Snowclaw, at your service."

"Judy Hopps," said the bunny, looking forward at the empty podium, chiefless.

Judy couldn't believe that disappointed her.

"Oh, I know all about you. The hero who saved Zootopia from the nighthowlers. And not only that, you saved the reputation of us predators. That earns respect in my book. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask for an autograph or anything. I'm professional, first and foremost. Still, it feels good to have someone with your expertise watching my back."

Judy swallowed a lump in her throat and said something humble back, not even really paying attention to what it was. She thought about mentioning how she hadn't been alone in her endeavor to fix Zootopia, but in came Bogo, the many officers in the room shouting for their chief. Bogo silenced them as always and told them all to sit before going through his usual report, which included mentioning the fact that a new officer had come in, then declaring his lack of interest in that fact. Stacy smiled at the comment, her eyes burning with a determination that Judy didn't think that even she'd had on her first day here.

And that meant something.

"And finally, Hopps and our transfer...I need you to patrol Savannah Central. Same routine, Hopps. Maybe Weaselton won't somehow appear at a candy store and try to rob it with a flower." Judy raised her eyebrow at the attempted joke and made eye contact with the confused Stacy. Still, as unfunny as it was, Judy wouldn't be surprised to find out that Weaseton had somehow gotten out of jail and was terrorizing some small store.

"On it, Chief Bogo," said Judy as the chief watched the two leave the room to go on their patrol.

~Prey~

Judy drove down the streets of Savannah Central, wondering how she had gotten back to the exact same spot she was in yesterday, with the exception of Stacy, of course.

"So," Judy said while stopping at a red light, "what's your story? What motivated you to become a cop? Mine was a mix of big dreams and big bullies."

"That so? We're trading stories now? Alright, hmm… well, I didn't want to be a cop at first. I actually wanted to go into engineering, until I realized I was only doing that because people told me it paid well. One night, I was walking around town, wondering what I was going to do with my life, when I heard a woman scream…"

~Prey~

 _Stacy jumped when she heard the ear-piercing scream of some poor woman in danger. The white wolf looked around for help and felt around her pockets for the phone she had left at home, fussing at herself when she found her pockets empty. With nothing left to do despite the strong urge to run away, Stacy ran towards the sound of the screaming woman, following the constant shrieks and cries for help._

 _Finally, Stacy came upon an alley where a lioness was crawling backwards on the ground while a lion advanced on her, telling her that she shouldn't have done whatever it was that had made him so mad, that she should have just 'kept her big mouth shut'. Stacy saw the lion and the urge to run away got ever stronger. But with it also came a sense of anger, of strength, the kind that she had felt before when she abandoned her engineering degree. Stacy didn't know if it was the adrenaline talking, or if she had a death wish because of her inability to figure out what to do with her life, but the white wolf stepped forward and ordered the lion to stop where he was._

 _Both mammals looked at her standing at the end of the alleyway, one seeing her as a savior, the other a nuisance._

" _You've no business here, girl. Get out of here while you can."_

" _TCPD, you are under arrest."_

 _The lion chuckled,_ _"_ _Do you really think some wolf wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt that says 'bite me' can pass as a cop?"_

" _I'm undercover, you moronic maniac."_

 _The lion grimaced for a moment, then smiled again._ _"_ _Alright. Where's your badge?"_

 _Stacy was silent for a moment, realizing that pretending to be an officer may not have been her wisest course of action. She tried to think of something that would pass as a badge, but nothing came to mind. The bravery that had flooded her so strongly diminished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the wolf to timidly shift her position a bit. The lion smiled sweetly at the lioness and whispered something that Stacy couldn't hear. Before she knew it, the lion was walking towards her, mumbling things that she was too paralyzed with fear to acknowledge. Something about this lion, how he walked towards her, how he stunned her with his wild gaze gave her a cold sweat._

 _He was fear itself, and he wanted Stacy to know it. But in the wolf's moment of tunnel vision, she didn't see the police officer, a real member of the TCPD, sneaking up to tase the lion without a second thought._

 _Stacy watched as the lion fell to the ground, and the lioness slowly got up and made her way out of the alleyway, carefully eyeing her assailant._

 _The officer holstered his taser and looked to the two women, asking if they were okay. Stacy nodded, and so did the lioness. The officer handcuffed the lion and radioed for backup. The voice responded by saying that a squad car was just down the street and on the way to collect the suspect. The lioness would be taken in for questioning once she calmed down a bit._

 _As soon as the officer looked back up at the two, the lioness hugged Stacy suddenly, tears streaming down her muzzle as she thanked the wolf for saving her._

" _Hey, it wasn't me, it was the officer."_

" _Actually, I'm quite glad you kept him distracted long enough for me to book him," the officer said._ _"_ _So me and this lady both owe you our thanks. Thank you." The tiger officer smiled at the wolf, and Stacy patted the lioness comfortingly on the back as she cried._

" _Yeah," Stacy said._ _"_ _No problem._ _"_

~Prey~

Judy had her eyes on the road but kept her ears perked up, listening intently to Stacy's story.

"After that, me and the lioness were questioned, let go, and the lion got beaten in jail. He came out a new lion, supposedly. Got a job, worked his life around. And me and that lioness stayed in contact for a little while, at least until she had to move away for family reasons. I still message her sometimes. After that night, I started thinking about becoming a cop, so I changed my major and went into criminal justice. Eventually, I became a cop, and a few years later, when that lion got out and changed his life, it just further proved to me that anyone can be saved. It made me proud to actually be a cop."

"That's...wow. Guess you had a pretty bad experience with lions, huh? I can't really relate. Mine was a fox."

"What, that big bully you mentioned was a fox?"

Judy just nodded. Stacy made a sound almost like she was impressed. Or maybe she was just acknowledging the irony of their similarly negative experiences, despite their significant difference in drama.

"Ech," Stacy muttered, the disgusted sound getting Judy's attention. The bunny glanced over to barely catch a glimpse of a fox tail slipping into an alley. "I know as a police officer I'm professionally obligated to be neutral about species, but something about foxes, I just... I can't deal with them." Judy caught the disgusted look on Stacy's face and got the slight impression that this wolf had experienced issues with more than just lions.

But before Judy could mention something, her radio clicked and Clawhauser came on.

"Judy!" Clawhauser said as if greeting a long lost friend.

"Not very formal, is he?" Stacy muttered before raising her voice a little bit. "And me."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. Silly me!"

"Clawhauser," Judy said. "You were saying."

"Oh, right. Um, we have complaints from some residents of the Grand Pangolin Arms. There's a very loud fight going on between some couple. Go check it out, but be careful."

"I always am," Judy said as Clawhauser went silent. "I think I have an idea as to who this couple is." Stacy gave the bunny a strange look as she turned to head to her old apartment complex.


	3. Chapter 3

Judy stood at the very door the yelling was coming from, Stacy right next to her. It felt strange for her to be back here after so long.

Stacy knocked on the door and waited until one of the antelopes opened up and peeked out. Judy remembered him to be Bucky.

"What do you want? Oh, sorry, Officer. Oh, look," he said, looking down at Judy. "Hey, Prong, get over here! The bunny's back."

"You mean the meter maid?" Prong yelled back, walking up next to Bucky with a soda in his hoof.

"Yeah, but now she's a real cop."

"Oh, would you look at that."

Stacy looked down as Judy's ears flattened against her head and the bunny gave the two an annoyed look.

"Yeah," Judy said. "Good to see you guys, too. Now, we have a noise complaint from not one, but a few of your neighbors. You're gonna have to keep it down, okay?"

"What, why? Ain't nobody sleeping yet. It's daytime, what kind of noise complaint would anyone make?" Prong yelled with a sip of his soda.

"Look, just keep it down, okay? I know you guys fight a lot, but just do it a little bit less... you know, obnoxiously loud. Me and my partner have more important stuff to be doing instead of sitting here and giving you a slap on the wrist."

"Dang," Bucky said. "Bunny's gotten tough. Alright, jeez, we'll quiet down a little." And with that, the door slammed and Bucky yelled for Prong to throw him a soda.

"Well that went... easier than I thought it would," Stacy said.

"It's just because I know them," Judy explained. "Since our rooms were right next to each other, I could hear everything they said and vice-versa. I'd end up helping them with their marriage problems through the wall. They're more inclined to listen to me because they owe me a few favors from all the advice I gave them in my time living here."

"Do you actually think they'll keep it down?"

"About as well as prison can keep Weaselton down."

"Great," Stacy said as her and Judy walked back to the car to continue their patrol. "But I still have no idea who this Weaselton guy is."

"Well then, allow me to catch you up."

~Prey~

Laughter filled the police car as Stacy tried to contain herself from the recent story Judy told her about Weaselton.

"So the taser really wasn't loaded?" she asked. Judy nodded in confirmation, leaving Stacy in another fit of laughter. "I don't think I've ever said this before, but I hope I get a chance to arrest that guy just to see how he messes it up."

"Poor little weasel. If he wasn't so annoying and determined to do crime I would probably feel bad for him." Stacy's giggling eventually died down and she spent the next few minutes looking out the window at the many mammals that the car zoomed by.

The sun was still in the sky but looked ready to start finally setting. There were fewer mammals walking the streets, and the traffic was getting a bit thicker from everyone trying to get back home from work. Stacy was tempted to put the window down so she could breathe in some fresh afternoon air. There was always something do special about it... so peaceful.

"Hey, there's a coffee shop a block from here. You want to go get something?" Judy asked. Stacy looked over with a smile on her face.

"You read my mind."

Judy drove to the aforementioned coffee shop and the two officers walked into the brewery to order their respective drinks. After that, Stacy and Judy found a nice quiet booth to relax in.

"You mentioned those two antelopes were married. You don't see a lot of that where I come from."

"Neither did I. I'm from Bunnyburrow."

"Oh, cool. I'm from Tandra, but I guess you already figured that out from the story I told you."

Their drinks were brought out, and Judy was ready to fire away with some questions about what Tandra was like. That was, until Stacy finally decided her coffee was cool enough to drink and took a sip, whereafter a displeased frown etched its way onto her face.

"What's wrong?" Judy asked.

"This coffee tastes a little funny. I may need to go get a new one." Stacy got up to go to the counter.

"Well, good luck on your hunt for your black gold."

"I prefer hazelnut gold, but whatever."

Judy halfway laughed as she looked out the window of the coffee shop, the sky getting a bit darker, the cars continuing their constant movement. Judy could sit there and watch the cars for hours, wondering where all of those mammals were going, where they would go back to, what kind of lives they lived.

This was why she didn't like being able to think for so long. She would always get so pensive. A small part of her wondered if she was just starting to get restless. She had so much built up energy and not much police work to really do in Zootopia.

As bad as she felt about missing the excitement, Judy joined the police force to make the world a better place. The only problem with that was when the world was a better place, what was left for her to do?

Judy would have zoned off more if Stacy hadn't grabbed her shoulder rather gently and whispered, "Well, apparently the cashier thinks I'm lying, so now they're getting the manager."

"What?" Judy said. "That's dumb." Judy took a long sip of her coffee and stood from her seat to go see what was going on.

But when Judy got to the counter and saw the manager walk out, she went pale. The fox smiled warmly as he walked out of his back room and glided up to the counter, his black tie swinging slightly from his red button-up and his jeans barely visible from behind the counter.

"N...Nick?" Judy wondered if she had finally lost her mind and was just seeing things.

"Hey, Carrots. You said there was a problem with your coffee, Miss?" Nick asked Stacy. The white wolf looked back and forth between the fox and the rabbit, wondering what sort of history these two had.

"Um, you know what, it's getting late. We should really be getting back to the precinct, right, Judy?" The wolf got no response from her rabbit partner, so Stacy just grabbed Judy's arm and led her outside and back to the car.

The drive back to the precinct was the longest few minutes of both of their lives.


	4. Chapter 4

Judy walked down the street with Stacy at her side. The white wolf had offered to walk her partner home after seeing how shaken up she was from her encounter with the fox. Stacy had a good few questions about who that fox was, but with Judy suddenly acting so different, she figured the best course of action for now would be to just wait it out and make sure Judy recovered from whatever trance she'd fallen into.

"So, my first day on the job here was pretty eventful," Stacy started. "I told you why I became a cop, we went on patrol, stopped an argument between a married couple, laughed about this Weaselton guy, and went to a coffee shop. Sure, we didn't chase a criminal convoy in a car with three wheels. But hey, I got to see more of Savannah Central. Hopefully Chief Bogo will send us on patrol in Tundra Town. I've always been a big fan of the cold. How about you?"

"Huh?" Judy said, looking up. "Oh, um... I've always kind of preferred the heat. I mean, I always worked on the farm with my parents so I guess I'm just used to it. Besides, I would always go with my younger sisters and just sunbathe to relax after a stressful day."

"I see."

"Here we are," Judy said, stopping in her tracks. Here they were, indeed, at her apartment, Nick's old apartment.

Judy led Stacy to her room, hesitant to actually go in, assuming that Nick would be in there waiting for her. Would he be there? Would he kick her out and make her go back to her old apartment? Wouldn't that be awkward after having to scorn Bucky and Pronk today?

Stacy didn't seem to notice her partner's hesitance as she said, "Well, good night, Judy. See you tomorrow." She gave Judy a light punch on the arm and walked away. Judy shouted a thanks for walking her home and went inside, her heart leaping to her throat when she saw the apartment was empty.

No fox in sight. Yet.

Judy casually strolled throughout her whole apartment, telling herself she wasn't making sure Nick was there. Once the bunny was sure the area was Nick proof, she got her police uniform off and took her badge off of it before throwing the uniform itself into the washer to get it cleaned. She decided to get a nice hot shower, but instead of actually bathing, she sat in a ball on the shower floor and wondered if she really had imagined Nick after all.

 _But he called me Carrots._

How long had he been back? How long had he been managing a coffee shop? Judy tried to shove it out of her mind and got out of the shower, drying herself off thoroughly before changing into a comfy set of pajamas. She took a longing look at her bedroom for a minute, considering crashing for the night. But she really wanted to get that movie she'd been trying to watch for the past few days finished already. She needed to know if she'd guessed the killer right.

Still, it was pretty obvious she would fall asleep again.

Judy knew what she had to do.

So she sat on the couch and turned the T.V.. on.

~Prey~

Judy awoke suddenly, shielded in the darkness of her apartment. The T.V.. had turned itself off after the movie had finished.

The movie that, once again, she fell asleep during. Honestly, at this point, Judy questioned if she was really as interested in it as she thought she was, or if the lack of cases lately had made her want to pretend like she was doing detective work in the T.V.. to alleviate some of the boredom. Regardless, she didn't have time to reach for the remote before a knock came at the door.

"So that's what woke me up," she said to herself. The bunny swallowed as she stood up, still groggy from falling asleep but her heart still pumping from the thought of who would be behind that door. Judy could easily ignore it and pretend like she'd been asleep in her room the whole time if she saw him again.

But whatever gave her that thought dissipated as she strode towards the door and looked through the peephole to assure herself that it was, in fact, the very fox she wasn't ready to see again. Not yet. Not so suddenly.

But she opened the door anyway.

And there he was—a whole year had passed—and there he stood, balancing a pizza box in one hand and a drink carrier with two iced coffees in the other. He leaned against the door frame with that sly smile she had missed and hated so much.

"Hey, Carrots," said Nick. "Mind if I come in?"

Judy found her mouth to be suddenly dry and all she could do was nod her head yes. She flipped the light switch on as she walked to her kitchen and leaned against the sink as Nick laid the pizza box and coffees on it.

"Sorry about earlier, I wasn't exactly planning on meeting you quite yet. But I wanted to surprise you, so I guess I got what I wished for."

"Is it really you?"

Nick smiled. "I hope so, otherwise you just invited a stranger into your house. Come on, Carrots, it's me. Really."

"It's just... it's been so long since I've seen you, Nick. And you just show up out of the blue and come to my apartment with food expecting things to be exactly the way they were?"

"Of course not. The food's more of my way of apologizing for the surprise I gave you earlier. And I figured it would be a good time to catch up and talk about what's happened in the year I've been gone."

"It's ten o'clock, Nick. You may be nocturnal, but I've got work tomorrow."

"You don't sound very excited about it. Is something happening at work?"

"Zootopia's been pretty quiet. There's not much to do anymore. Now it's just a lot of patrolling and paperwork."

"Ah, my two least favorite p words. If you want, I could dress up as a robber and you could chase me around town." Nick gave her a foxy grin and put a straw in his coffee, sliding Judy's over to her side. "Well, if the coffee and I can't convince you…" Nick opened the pizza box, the smell making Judy's mouth water almost instantly. "Then maybe a four cheese pizza with puffy crust will change your mind. I know it's your favorite."

Judy tried to hold back the smile at the hopeful fox, his mouth open in a wide grin in an attempt to convince her. Finally, Judy relaxed with a sigh, and let the smile appear, making the fox smile triumphantly back at her.

"You win this time, you dumb fox."

"Good. You had me scared for a moment." Nick sat down at the table with Judy, and the two each grabbed a nice cheesy slice of pizza. "So, you mentioned work not being what it used to be. What about the rest of your life? How's your partner? And what about your family, how are they doing?"

"Well, after we managed to keep the kidnappings down for good, we were worried that people would start wondering where our first fox officer went."

"I highly doubt anybody in Zootopia was wondering that," Nick said. "Unless Zootopia has gotten as good as you claim. Do mammals here still hate foxes, or has it gotten a little better?"

"Believe it or not, a lot better. I haven't seen a lot of bigotry going on. The city's been quiet."

"Hm, I don't know if I like that. There's always a calm before the storm. Trust me, I've seen it happen here before. Things were quiet enough in Zootopia before the nighthowler case, actually." Nick took a casual bite of his pizza as if he hadn't just implied that something bad was coming. "But enough serious talk. Tell me more about what's been happening."

Judy just stared back, not saying anything. Nick knew that look—not a look Judy would use, no, but a look an officer of the law would. Nick'd had a few run-ins with the cops before, and he was always lucky enough to talk his way out of it. But when a cop was analysing a mammal, they always had a tell. Every movement Nick would make, the cop would notice it. Their eyes would glance to wherever he made a movement. A twitch of the finger, a shake of the leg, even taking a simple bite of pizza.

Judy was analysing him as a police officer, and he wasn't sure what was going through that long-eared head of hers.

"Penny for your thoughts, Carrots?" Nick said, breaking Judy out of her mental investigation.

"What?" Judy said as if she had just been asked the weather. "What is it?"

"I lost you for a minute there. I know I can be distracting sometimes, but come on, it's not like I've been working out or anything. Still the same skinny, handsome fox you always knew."

"I missed you, Nick," Judy said after a few seconds of silence. "I really missed you... even though I am a little mad at you for surprising me like that at the coffee shop."

"I missed you too, fluff," Nick said with a chuckle. "But, hey, I'm here now. That's all that matters."

"Where's your collar, Nick?"

Silence flooded the room as soon as Judy said that. Nick took an abnormally large bite of pizza to go as long as possible without having to answer such a question. He knew she would question him about it eventually, but...he didn't want to talk about that right now, not when he'd just gotten back.

"You like the apartment? I was honestly expecting you to change it up a little more, but it's really not that different. Guess you missed me more than I thought." Nick plastered that wry smile on his face, looking back down at his pizza and taking a significantly smaller bite.

"Nick... after what happened the last time you didn't have that collar on, it would really make me feel better if I knew if…"

"If I'm the real Nick. Yes, Carrots, I am. I've got it covered, don't worry."

"Nick…"

The fox sighed and reached in his pocket. Judy hated herself for tensing. Nick held up a very tiny Zooloc bag, then put it right back in his pocket again. From the small glance Judy had gotten, she could see that there were some kind of pills inside.

He had found a way around the collar. But why had he taken it off? _How_ had he taken it off?

"Don't worry, Carrots. I just didn't like all the weird looks I was getting, and it's pretty hard for a fox with a shock collar on to get a job so I got a doctor to make some pills for me. No big deal."

Judy wasn't sure what doctor could have just magically cooked up some medicine for Nick like that, not when Dr. Andrew said a cure could have taken weeks, maybe months. Still, it made Judy feel just a little better. And so did the taser in her bedside table. As horrible as it was to admit, Judy just wasn't sure she could trust that this was Nick, not without his collar.

Then again, the Nick that kidnapped her—he wasn't the Nick she knew. That Nick was quiet, calculating, like a sleepwalker. This Nick was lively and talkative as always.

Judy let herself relax again.

"Well, I can tell you don't want to talk about it, so I won't continue to ask. Not for now, anyway. I am a police officer who hasn't had a good case in a while, so expect a good interrogation later."

Nick laughed, "Hey, I'm still willing to wear that robber's outfit and let you chase me around."

"Oh, I'm sure you would love to get chased by a police officer," Judy said.

"Well, you know what they say, third time's a charm."

Judy closed the pizza box and shoved it into the fridge for later, sipping on her nice cold coffee. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean? Are you telling me you've only been chased by the cops twice?"

"What can I say? I was reckless in my younger days."

"Only in your younger days?"

"Watch it, Carrots, or I'll steal that pizza from you in the middle of the night."

"Well, that eliminates the need for a robber's costume. I'd get to chase you down anyway. So, if you're okay with staying on the couch long enough for me to get my stuff out of here, you can have your apartment back."

"What? No, this is your apartment now, Carrots. You're paying for it, remember? And besides, I've got a place I'm staying at."

"Are you sure? This place isn't some alleyway where you sleep in the trashcan is it?"

"Yikes, I forgot to shower this morning, but I didn't think I smelled that bad."

Judy raised an eyebrow at the bad joke and rolled her eyes at his unapologetic smile, "Just making sure this isn't some run down place where you might get yourself hurt."

"Believe me, I'm staying somewhere comfortable."

"You know, that raises a question. Most criminals, or at least ones as smart as you, usually have a few extra places they like to stay at in case the cops are after them. What extra places did you have?"

"Well, believe it or not, I've never officially been arrested, even in my younger years. Sure, the cops brought me home to my mom one night as a teenager and gave me a warning, which I completely ignored and then continued stealing. Once I had a close run in with them, I realized the best way to get money was to trick people into giving it to me. Easy. And as you experienced the first time you confronted me about my hustles, it was never anything technically illegal, which led to the disappointment of every cop who tried to arrest me."

"Until I found your felony tax evasion and turned you from a hardened con artist to a frightened little girl." Judy casually sipped her drink after saying that.

"Wow, whippin' out the low blows now, huh, Carrots? I don't think my hardened con artist heart can take any more abuse."

Judy smiled and looked at her T.V., wondering if she would ever get that forsaken movie watched.

Nick finished off his drink and threw it in the trash can, noticing Judy's sudden interest in the black screen of the television.

"You know, I usually find the T.V. to be more entertaining when it's turned on."

"I just keep trying to watch this weird romantic comedy that has a killer in it, as weird of a combination that is, and I think I know who it is, but I just keep falling asleep before I can finish it."

"A romantic comedy slash murder mystery. Are you talking about 'Two Halves of a Broken Heart'?"

Judy looked at Nick with confusion and surprise, "You know the movie I'm talking about?"

"Correction, I've seen the movie you're talking about." Nick walked to the couch and fell back on it, adjusting himself until he was satisfied. "I suppose I could just tell you who did it–"

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde, don't you dare tell me who the killer is."

"Then come over here and watch the movie with me. It's been a while and I'll make sure to keep you awake with my very witty humor." Nick put a hand over his chest emphatically.

Judy grabbed her coffee from the table and brought the movie to the last place she remembered, sitting down with Nick on the couch and praying that she would finally stay awake this time.


	5. Chapter 5

Nick slowly woke himself up to find Judy walking around her apartment with her uniform on, a toothbrush hanging from her mouth, and a bottle of deodorant in her hand.

Nick felt good sleeping on his own couch again after so long. Sleeping in whatever dark corner he could find on the street was hard those first few weeks of leaving Zootopia. If he hadn't gotten those pills and the collar taken off, he wasn't sure he would even be here right now.

That collar prevented him from making money to feed himself, to buy a bed to sleep in. He'd been in similar situations before, but nothing so severe.

Still, the collar was gone; he had the pills; he had a small business, thanks to a friend that owed him a favor. Things were better now, especially with Judy there. Getting to see her and talk to her again after all this time felt good. Except, after all that time back in the streets, he'd learned quickly to build his walls back up.

Judy would try to get him to confide in her again, he knew that, but he'd reinforced his 'Never let them see that they get to you' motto. Nick was pretty certain he would never be able to confide in anyone ever again. Even to Judy.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Judy said as she walked back into the living room, her hand in her uniform, seemingly adjusting something underneath the protective fabric and vest she always had on top of it.

"Morning, Carrots. So, are you happy that I managed to keep you awake during the movie?"

"Do you even need to ask? I knew Jacob was the one who did it!"

"I'm surprised you knew. If things have been as quiet as you say, I expected your detective skills to have at least been dulled a little."

"Nope, they're as strong as ever," Judy said with a toothy grin, checking to make sure her badge was properly adjusted on her uniform. "Well, I'm off for work, so let's go."

"Yeah, I need to go, too. I might stop by my place and get a shower first, though."

Judy and Nick left the apartment, said their goodbyes, and went their own paths, both ready for the day ahead.

Stacy's wish had come true. She and Judy were patrolling Tundra Town today, Stacy at the wheel, and Judy thinking about Nick with a smile on her face. She was so glad they had just fallen back into their friendship without too much trouble. Watching a movie and eating food like nothing had happened really was a relief.

Judy had to admit she was still a bit mad at the fox, but her happiness overcame that rather easily.

"I can't believe Chief Bogo actually chose us to patrol on Tundra Town," Stacy said suddenly, her eyes lighting up. She really did find Tundra Town rather interesting.

"Is it safe to assume that Miss Stacy Snowclaw dropped a hint or two to Bogo about patrolling here today?"

"No, actually. I thought you had."

"Huh, I guess luck is on your side today."

Stacy smiled and continued driving along the icy streets of Tundra Town, more focused on the buildings and architecture than any form of suspicious activity. And with Mr. Big and his crew here, there was bound to be something out of the ordinary Judy could spot if she weren't imagining what movie her and Nick would watch next. She tried to focus, but having her friend back was just so exciting.

The radio clicked, getting both officer's attention suddenly, and on came Clawhauser, the sound of crunching not present this time.

"Hey, Judy, we gotta—oh wait, and Stacy. Yeah, hi, Stacy. We got an assault in progress at Marit Street."

"Got it," Stacy said, turning her sirens on and speeding to the very street Clawhauser mentioned, Judy directing her where to go, given the white wolf's inexperience with these streets.

It wasn't hard to spot the ambulance parked near an injured looking tiger on the ground being checked on by the paramedics.

Judy and Stacy got out of their own car and ran to the tiger, hoping to get as much information as they could before the paramedics needed to take him to the hospital.

One zebra paramedic stood up from her spot next to the injured tiger and went to talk to the two officers. "Chief Bogo told me you were coming. We've managed to stabilize him, but I'll have to ask you to hurry up with whatever questions you have for him. We'd prefer to take him to the hospital as soon as possible."

"Has he said anything since the incident?" Stacy asked.

"He said he would only talk to the police about what happened. He's been quiet since, poor guy. Wouldn't even tell us his name."

"Alright, we'll be quick," Judy said, walking to the tiger. The feline lay on his back, not looking very up for questioning. Still, Judy wasn't about to break her promise. She would only ask what she needed to and handle the rest later.

"Sir?" Judy said, gaining the tiger's attention.

"Mark," he said. "My name's Mark."

"Mark, can you tell me what happened? Every detail you can give me will help."

"I... I was walking home from... from something... and this fox came up to me with a baseball bat. Told me I wouldn't dare... do something, whatever it was. The next thing I know, these guys came along and started... whatever it is these guys do." Judy could tell this guy was discombobulated from his attack.

"Can you tell me what breed of fox this was, Mark?"

"Fennec. Ya know... the short ones... had a really deep voice, though... like... like…"

"Miss Hopps, we really must take him now. I assume you got what you came for?"

"Yes, I did. Good luck, Mark," Judy said as he was lifted up in a stretcher and carefully wheeled inside.

"I didn't think people could be questioned before going to the hospital. In Tandra we always waited," Stacy remarked.

"Well, in Zootopia, it's always best to get information as soon as possible. You'd be surprised at how quickly things can escalate here."

"Yeah. Well, I guess we should finish up our patrol and get out of here, huh?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Judy sat on the edge of her bed, her room clean and organized as always, looking down at the tie Nick had given her. His lucky tie, given to him by his dad. He hadn't asked for that back, either.

Judy wasn't a very superstitious person, but she sometimes thought with amusement that this tie really was lucky, and that it was the reason why crime had gone down so significantly in Zootopia. But that assault case finally put that ever growing theory to rest.

She'd gotten what she wished for. A little more action. Now that she had it, she felt guilty for wishing it in the first place. Judy still loved being a cop. She loved the authority, the sense of control, seeing parents walking with their children, seeing mammals help each other. It gave her purpose to keep going. But being a cop could also be unsatisfying, as much as Judy hated to admit it. She felt anxious when nothing bad happened, then guilty when it finally did.

Granted, it wasn't that Judy didn't love her job, it was just... she wished there could be a nice medium.

Judy hung the tie on her doorknob and walked out into the living room just in time to hear a knock on her door. The rabbit opened the door to see Nick there in his classic green Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants, tieless, and a large bag full of containers in his hand, and smoothies in the other.

"Is this becoming a regular thing with you?" she asked, amused.

"What, a friendly fox can't treat an ex-partner with a fancy meal?"

"Oh yeah?" Judy said, peeking in the bag as the fox walked by her. "And what five star Chinese restaurant did you go to to make this a fancy meal?"

Nick laughed, "Aw, come on, Carrots. Just because it's not five stars doesn't mean it can't be fancy."

"You got Mr. Bob's, didn't you?"

"Hehe, you can take the boy out of the streets, but you can't take the streets out of the boy. Mr. Bob can make some mean fried rice, admit it."

"I've actually never eaten from there. I heard it wasn't good."

"It's not good when his chef makes the food, but if you know him personally like I do, he makes it himself."

"Why?"

"He knows I prefer his cooking to his chef's. Come on, just try this rice, I swear you won't regret it."

Judy laughed and closed her door, taking a seat at the kitchen table as Nick continued to take carton after carton out, the smell of Chinese food making Judy's mouth water. The bunny impatiently opened each carton to see what was inside. Fried rice, veggies, white rice, lo mein, teriyaki flavored mushrooms, some kind of chips, and fortune cookies.

"Wow," Judy said. "I gotta admit, it looks and smells amazing."

"Well, looks can be deceiving," Nick said, taking a spoonful of fried rice and holding it up for Judy to take. "And since when was food meant for staring?"

Judy took the spoon and tasted the fried rice. An audible moan came from her closed mouth, the flavor and spice of the delicious rice rivaling any other she had tasted in a very long time.

"Good, huh?"

"Wow. Why doesn't this guy cook all the food himself? His restaurant would be the talk of Savannah Central."

"Well, the chef is his son, and his son loves cooking. Besides, he makes plenty of money from street trash like myself," Nick said with a smile and a bite of a mushroom.

"You're not street trash," Judy said, not expecting those words to come out of her mouth.

"Good, then you can't throw me away."

Judy stared at him for a while. "That was the cheesiest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Don't you mean the trashiest?"

Judy rolled her eyes and continued eating her meal, talking with Nick about each other's days.

"Oh, that reminds me," Judy said, covering her mouth to prevent Nick from seeing the terrifying image of her mouth full of lo mein. "We had an assault case today. Some tiger got beaten with a baseball bat."

"Ouch."

"By a fox."

"Uh huh…"

"A fennec fox."

Nick sat back in his chair and looked down for a minute. "You don't really believe Finnick would do that, do you?"

"Well, he carries around a baseball bat, he's got anger issues. It matches up."

"Hm. So, what, you want me to talk to him about it?"

"Have you been in contact with him since you came back to Zootopia?"

"He knows I'm back and we've talked a little, yes. Look, I'll talk to him about it, alright, but I'm not letting my friend get arrested. Finnick may have an anger problem, but he wouldn't just beat someone like that without reason."

"I believe you. I'll do some looking to see who this tiger guy was. Of course, I don't know his full name yet. Regardless, I should be able to kick up some dirt about him, or maybe some history of fighting. I don't know. Either way, I just wanted to talk to you about it."

The rest of the dinner was spent talking about recent events, Gazelle's new album, Nick's new job as a manager of a coffee shop. Once the cartons were empty, and the two friends were full, Nick stood up and grabbed all the trash together before throwing it away. After a stretch and a sip of his blueberry smoothie, the fox wished Judy a good night and started for the door.

"Wait," Judy said, making the fox look back. "That's it? You come here with food and leave right after? Why not watch another movie? The night's still young."

Nick looked at his phone, thought for a moment, then tapped on it for a while, before smiling up at her. "Alright, fine. What movie do you want to watch?"

Judy hopped out of her seat and went to the cabinet under her T.V. containing all sort of movies she'd been planning to watch but had never gotten the time to. Or allowed herself to have the time to.

"Since you're the one asking me to stay, I feel comfortable enough to say with the utmost confidence that I'd rather not watch another romantic comedy horror."

"Of course," Judy said, subtly slipping the sequel to the movie they watched last night back into its place. "How about...Robin Hood?"

"Seen it. And everyone keeps telling me how much I look like the main character."

"Okay... what about this one?"

"What about Meowana?"

"Oh. I actually haven't seen that one."

"Meowana it is."

Nick sat on the couch and made himself comfortable while Judy got the movie started before joining him.

It wasn't until about an hour into the movie that Judy started getting sleepy and began nodding off.

"Carrots," Nick said. "Carrots, why don't you go to sleep in your bed?"

Judy shook herself awake and looked up at Nick with tired eyes. "Yeah, I guess it is getting pretty late."

"I gotta get home."

"No, it's too late for you to be walking all the way back there."

"Don't worry, Carrots, I have night vision, I won't trip and get a boo boo."

"Just stay the night."

Nick laughed, "If I didn't know any better, Carrots, I'd say you were making a move on me."

"Don't flatter yourself, fox."

Nick laughed again. It was so strange seeing him laugh. He'd never done it very much around her. The first time she'd actually seen him laugh like that was at the DMV when he made that completely unfunny joke to Flash. Something about a camel, if Judy remembered correctly. He'd slapped her on the arm and laughed a breathy little laugh.

Hearing it then had gotten on her nerves, but now... now it was kind of cute. It was definitely a change to see him actually laugh at some of her retorts instead of fighting back with an even more clever one. Maybe he'd actually gotten better after all.

"Alright, fine, I'll sleep here. Good thing I changed into something more comfortable before coming here." Nick sat back down on the couch and Judy brought him a blanket and a pillow to make his experience on the couch a little more comfortable.

"Well, I'm off to bed now, I guess. Good night."

"Night, Carrots. Don't let the nighthowlers bite."

Judy glared at him with a smile on her face, "Oh, don't worry. I won't."

She disappeared around the corner and Nick bundled up and went to sleep with little trouble. Judy, after a few days of sleeping on the couch, felt like she was laying on a cloud when she crawled up in her own bed, falling asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Nick sat bolt upright, not yet realizing he was safe in his old apartment and not crying against a staircase, a collar around his neck mercilessly shocking him into submission. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was grasping at his neck to rip off the collar that wasn't there.

Nick looked around the apartment, his fur damp with sweat, his heart beating against his chest so hard he put his paw to it to prevent the vital organ from jumping out and running away from him.

The fox breathed air into his dry mouth, his chest trying to keep up with his heart.

Eventually, Nick laid back down, getting control of his breath, looking up at the blank ceiling, its emotionless features offering no guidance.

With a small cough, Nick got up from the couch and got a glass of water to appease his dry mouth and chapped lips.

The cool water felt blissful as it cooled down the adrenaline in his veins from the imaginary danger. Nick placed the empty glass as quietly into the sink as he could and leaned his head against the fridge, the cold metal feeling good on his fur.

Nick tensed as the sound he really didn't want to hear came from the hallway. The sound of feet hitting the floor.

Bunny feet.

Judy came out from the hallway, not expecting to see Nick looking into the open fridge.

"Craving Chinese leftovers at this hour?" Judy asked, a hand on her hip.

"Aw, how'd you know?" Nick playfully said back.

"Why are you so sweaty?"

"I got hot. I heat up easily when I go to sleep."

Judy did it again. That analyzing that got on his nerves so bad. He was her friend, not an unsolved case.

He simply kept looking into the fridge for some kind of way to get her to stop looking at him like that. To stop looking at him with sympathy. He didn't need it.

"Did you have another nightmare?"

"What gives you that idea?"

"It's just that...last time you had a nightmare you got really sweaty. You also kind of get this weird look in your eye, almost like you're not completely sure you're not still dreaming."

Nick closed the fridge door, blocking Judy's ability to see any more of him than a silhouette, and enabling him to see her more clearly.

She looked worried, more worried than he'd seen her before.

Maybe coming back wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Carrots, listen. Even if I did have a nightmare, what would be the big deal? It happens to everybody."

"I know, Nick. I have literally hundreds of siblings, all of whom I've had to comfort with nightmares now and again. But you're different. When my brothers and sisters have them, they wake up, come into bed with me or one of my older siblings, and then they're fine the next morning. I've never seen nightmares affect someone so physically before."

Nick smiled at her. Not a sly smile, but a suave one, a sweet one.

"You know why that is, Carrots. I know it's been a year, but I know you haven't forgotten about why I react so strongly to them."

"PTSD, I know," Judy said, envying his night vision right now. "Is that also why you've closed yourself off again? You're more hesitant to talk to me."

Nick kept his con artist face on, despite Judy's inability to see him.

"Did something happen while you weren't in Zootopia? You said it was hard to get anyone to trust you with the collar on."

Nick thought for a moment, thought about why he was so hesitant about talking to Judy. His walls were all he had. They were his only form of protection from the cruelty of the world. His cynicism and careful planning had always managed to get him through difficult situations.

Since when had opening up ever helped him?

Still, the hopeful little bunny in front of him already knew so much about his past and issues. What was the harm in revealing a few more things?

 _Going crazy again_ , he thought. _Maybe taking down my walls had freed more than just my secrets. Maybe it freed the nighthowler serum in me._ As ridiculous as it sounded, Nick had theorized that, somehow, by keeping his walls up, he was a little more protected from the serum. Once he'd gone back to his cold and calculating state of mind, that faint pull didn't bother him as much. That pull back into the darkness, the pull he'd never really cared to notice until it revealed itself as his other half.

The monster that chewed through the ropes inside of him.

"Yeah, and whenever I started turning, it would shock this...thing in me back into submission. Sometimes it would take a while. Once, it had been almost a couple of minutes of pure electric shock until it finally quit. I thought it had malfunctioned and just decided to continue shocking me until one of us quit. I went to a black market doctor, the only kind that didn't care what I had on my neck, and got the horrid thing taken off. After that, he procured some kind of temporary cure." Nick reached in his pocket and pulled out the small baggie again. "These pills keep me from going savage. I have to take them every few days, and the side effects aren't very friendly, but, hey, you get what you can."

"Well–"

"And before you ask, I already called that Doctor Andrew guy and told him the situation. I gave him some of my blood and he's working on a permanent cure now. Problem is, he doesn't know how long it'll take or if it'll even work in the first place. Still, it's better than these things." Nick gestured to the baggie full of pills and put them in their proper place back in his pocket.

"So these pills give you the nightmares? Or the sweating?"

"No, the side effects of these pills are something I think is best kept to myself. But the sweating, the nightmares, and the other stuff you haven't seen yet are the result of the collar. All the shocking didn't help me like I thought it would."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it worsened my anxiety, for one. Waking up in the middle of the night with severe heart palpitations along with horrible nightmares that I already have regularly make a pretty unenjoyable cocktail of emotions."

"Nick…" Judy said, touching his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I just—look I don't want sympathy for this. Alright, I'm fine with telling you, but I don't need the feeling that I need to be dependent on someone else. I can handle this on my own. It's how I do things best."

"You're right. Still... I hate that Bellwether had such an effect on you. I swear, if I ever see her again, I'll make her taste her own serum. See if she likes having a shock collar around her neck."

Nick didn't let his surprise show, but seeing his little bunny angry like that was a very new thing to him. She cared. She really did care.

What a strange feeling.

"I'm going back to bed now," Nick said, rubbing the fur on top of Judy's head. "Night, Carrots."

"Wait," Judy said. "What if you have another nightmare?"

"Then I'll wake up and go back to sleep. No big deal. Who knows, maybe I won't have another one."

Judy looked to her bedroom, then back at Nick. "Why don't you sleep with me tonight instead?"

Nick paused for a moment. "Why?"

"Come on, you know why. It helps. Why do you think my siblings crawled up in bed with me when they had nightmares? It's not like we haven't done this before."

"Yeah, but last time you ended up trapped inside a warehouse."

"You're fine. Now come on, you need to get some real sleep."

Nick sighed and grabbed his pillow and blanket to join Judy in her bedroom. He figured he would feel a bit more nostalgia when walking in to his old room. Then again, he never really remembered what it looked like clean.

"I think I'm going to take a shower to get this sweat off. Except I don't have a change of clothes. And unless you want me to sleep with you naked, I think I'll just go back to the couch."

"I'll throw your old ones in the dryer for a little bit, that is if they don't shrink on me."

"Is this your nefarious plan, to shrink my clothes?"

"Only if you keep cracking jokes."

Nick laughed and went to the bathroom. As soon as he was in the shower, Judy took his clothes to the dryer and made sure to empty the pants pockets before throwing those in along with his shirt and underwear.

The bunny placed the fox's phone and wallet on top of the dryer as she went to the kitchen, thinking about how much her friend had been through. He just couldn't get a break.

Still, Judy felt good to have him open up to her again, and maybe now he would act more like his old self with that weight off his shoulders.

Nick and Judy lay in the bed, Judy already fast asleep and Nick trying to do the same. He'd failed. He'd failed to keep his walls up this time, from her at least.

Judy had this way of getting to him like no one else ever had before. The way she looked at him, spoke to him. The temptation to scoot a little closer to her, to feel the warmth of her fur, to feel comfortable, was there.

He ignored it and rolled onto his other side as a thought occurred to him. He missed his slyness. He was always sly and clever thanks to his predisposition. But after years of scamming people, Nick had honed that slick attitude, that ability to trick anyone in any way.

But, for some reason, he felt like his cleverness was leaving him, like he was losing his ability to trick. He didn't miss being hated and not trusted by anyone, but the fox couldn't pretend like he didn't miss his untrustworthiness, just a little bit.

It had been a part of him for so long, so maybe it was just a temporary feeling of loss for this metamorphosis he was going through.

Judy would be there for him. She was always there.

"Nick?" Judy said.

"I thought you were asleep."

"I was just wondering about that note you gave me. You know, before you left."

No response from the fox laying on the other side of the bed.

"You said you had your heart stolen by me," she continued. "I just wanted to know if you'd changed your opinion on it."

It took a while for Judy to hear Nick say, "I didn't mean it. In the heat of the moment, knowing I was leaving Zootopia, I was just feeling like saying anything I wanted. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable."

"It's okay," Judy said, thinking of the very note in her bedside table, glad Nick couldn't see the disappointment in her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Nick rounded the corner of one of Finnick's usual hideouts, spotting his orange van parked comfortably in the wide alleyway.

Nick took a breath as he walked to the back and knocked once, then twice, then three times. A few seconds passed and Finnick pushed the doors open.

"Well, look who decided to come see me," Finnick said, his face twisted into a scowl.

"Come on, buddy, I told you when I got back to Zootopia. Now give Nicky a big hug!"

"I hate you," said Finnick. "Alright, come in."

Nick smiled back and hopped up in the van, closing the doors behind him.

"So why have you graced me with your presence today, Nick?"

"I heard from a little birdy that a fox just about your height and appearance gave a tiger a real beating with a baseball bat."

"Was it a birdy or a bunny?"

"Was it you or some other fennec fox?"

"It was me. The guy said he was going to expose you."

"Expose me?"

"About you know what."

"How does this random tiger know about that? Why did he come to you to say he was going to do that and not think you would attack him for it?"

"Not sure."

Nick rested his chin in the crook between his thumb and forefinger. "It makes him look more valid that way. Whoever this guy is, he knows about you and me, about my secret and your violence. Someone blabbed, and I'm hoping it wasn't you, Fin." Finnick didn't even dignify that implied accusation with a response. "But he knew you you would attack him. And a mammal who gets attacked like that for knowing something shows the public just how true it is."

"If he can even reveal what he knows anymore," Finnick said. "I hit him pretty hard in his striped little head."

"Either way, we need to get to the bottom of this."

"Nick, you ain't gonna rat me out to the bunny, are you?"

"No, I made it clear that nothing like that would even happen. Don't worry, Fin. I'm going to look into this. In the meantime, you lie low. See if you can get Rick to do some digging of his own."

"Rick left."

"What?"

"Right after you, in fact. Said he wanted nothing to do with this place anymore. Told me to give you a hug for him, don't know why."

"You can keep the hug. Shame he left. We could've used him for this."

"I thought that same thing when you left Zootopia. But it's okay, man, I knew you had that stuff that made you go crazy. I'm guessing you got that settled if you're back here."

"I did, Finn. Now, I'm going to the ZPD to talk to Buffalo Wings."

"What?"

"The chief. I'm going to talk to the chief, Finn."

"Man, you come up with the weirdest nicknames for people."

Nick pushed the back doors open and smiled wickedly back at Finnick, "Sure thing Ele-Finnick."

"If you ever try to make me wear that again, I swear I'mma burn that costume with you in it."

"Always the charmer." And with that, Nick left the van, headed for his next destination.

Judy sat next to Stacy, smiling at the roar of shouts and pounds on the table as Chief Bogo walked in. Stacy looked like she wanted to join, but ultimately kept herself professional.

Bogo silenced them as per the routine and slapped his folder onto the podium, getting ready to assign the same patrols. Judy was hopeful he would send her and Stacy on some sort of follow-up investigation for the assault on that poor tiger.

But before Chief Bogo could utter a word, he froze, staring at the door in the back. The sounds of gasps were barely audible. Judy looked back, ignoring the disgusted sound from Stacy as Nick walked into the briefing room, that con artist smile on his face.

Judy resisted the urge to shake her head. For a guy who didn't like the spotlight, he sure knew how to make a scene.

"Wilde?" Bogo said.

"Nick Wilde, the fox himself!" exclaimed Fangmeyer as he held out a paw, to which Nick enthusiastically slapped it.

"Hey, Chief. How's it hanging?"

Bogo glanced to Judy, who glanced at Stacy, who was glaring at the fox before her. If Fangmeyer hadn't graciously accepted Nick's presence, the white wolf may have already tased and cuffed him.

"Wilde, my office. Now," Bogo said, glaring down at the fox.

"Sure thing, Chief," Nick said, hands in his pockets, walking out the other door. "Later all. Have fun catching all the bad guys." Nick's eyes fell on Stacy, and Judy tried to tell him with her eyes not to say anything. "And I hope your coffee's better next time, Officer."

Stacy looked like murder as Nick carelessly walked out of the room, Bogo following him and motioning for Judy to follow him. Judy gave an awkward smile to Stacy and followed the chief back to his office, where he sat down and slapped his hands heavily onto his desk.

"What are you doing back here, Wilde? And where's that collar you made Lionheart give you?"

"Don't worry, big guy, I've got that taken care of. Look, I need your help."

"When you drop that devilish smile, I will."

Nick looked back at the door, as if expecting to see the see the silhouettes of other officers through the tinted glass of Bogo's office door. Only after ensuring their privacy did Nick change from sly con artist to formal businessman.

"Here's the thing, Chief. I'm sure you're aware of the assault that took place with the tiger."

"I assume you had something to do with that?"

"Of course not. My friend did, however, and with good reason." Bogo tried to say something else, but Nick held up a hand, and much to Judy's surprise, Chief Bogo stopped talking and continued listening. "This tiger happened to have very incriminating information regarding my...reason for leaving Zootopia in the first place. Not to mention he also knows about my friend, enough to go to him and gloat about the information he knew, threatening to release it."

"Why would he go to your friend about this?"

"My theory is that he wanted to provoke my friend into attacking him in order to ensure that more inhabitants of Zootopia would listen to what he had to say about the sudden absence of your first fox on the police force and maybe even the kidnappings." Nick's face grew solemn.

"But when I questioned him, he had nothing to say about you," Judy said.

"True," Nick continued, "but my friend claimed to have hit this tiger pretty hard. I assume this same tiger was rather disoriented when you questioned him."

"Yeah, but–"

"My point being, we cannot allow this information to get out. Whoever this guy is must know that I'm back in Zootopia and is out to get me. Maybe some form of vendetta or just hatred against foxes in general. Not only will this ruin my opportunity to stay in Zootopia, but it will put the trustworthiness of the ZPD and Mayor Lionheart at risk when everyone finds out that you kept the kidnappings and my role in them a secret."

Bogo sat back in his chair, thinking about everything his ex-officer had just told him.

"It seems," Bogo said, "that we have no other choice but to help with this."

"Well," Nick said, "I suppose you could hold a press conference and reveal the information yourself. You would still have some mammals here that don't trust you, but they would at least hear the news from the bearer of the secret himself. And with Mayor Lionheart's ability to snake his way out of things, I'm sure he could diffuse the situation."

"No. We'll help you."

"Why, Chief? You could have easily told Zootopia about me, especially since you had no reason to believe I would return. You could have said that I was wanted as a fugitive and gotten me arrested. Mayor Lionheart could have just easily kept me in the cell the whole time had I not asked otherwise. So why did you help me? Why put your own reputation at risk along with mine?"

"I kept it a secret because Mayor Lionheart ordered me to. Besides, you may not be an official ZPD officer now, Wilde, but you were one, and a blasted fine one at that. I help my officers. What happened to you wasn't your fault. Hopps explained to me what happened with the nighthowler serum."

Nick kept his business face on, but Judy could see in his eyes how grateful the fox was. Neither of them had expected Bogo to do that.

"Thank you, Chief," Nick said, clearing his throat to keep his voice steady.

"You can thank me once we get this cleared up, Wilde."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

From the other side of the one way glass, Nick watched the tiger Finnick had attacked. Mark was the tiger's name. Mark had a bandage around his head and looked like he was experiencing a massive migraine.

Judy sat across from him, looking as friendly and loving as a mother as she thought about what she was going to ask.

"Why am I here?" Mark asked.

"We wanted to ask you a few more questions, Mr. Lacroff. You see, when I first questioned you, you were a bit... disoriented from your experience. That was our fault here at the ZPD for trying to question you in such a state."

"Officer, I never got to tell you about why I was attacked. I have some information about a fox that worked here."

"Do you know his name?"

"Well... Nick Wilde. He was the only ZPD fox that I'm aware of."

"Yes, I think I remember him. I gave him his badge."

"Yes, exactly. Nick Wilde is back in town. He has some sort of... virus, or condition that makes him go savage. He could be dangerous."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I was told by a reliable source. I don't know a lot about him, but he definitely knows a lot about Nick Wilde."

"So, you're telling me that someone told you that Nick Wilde had this... condition, and you just believed him. And why did this contact approach you about this?"

"He sent me a letter, told me he had some juicy intel and to meet him at a location to return the letter when he got there. I probably should have mentioned that I'm a journalist before all of this. Anyway, I wasn't going to pass up a good story, so I went and gave him his letter back. He showed me this video of Nick Wilde himself, charging Mr. Big's mansion, his own polar bear guards turning against him. I don't know what he did to get them to change their minds. Money, I guess. But after the video, this source told me to go find a fox named Finnick, to tell him that I had the information. The next thing I know, this little fox disappears, comes back with a baseball bat and...well, I guess you know the rest from there."

"Well, it seems your source betrayed you, sir. Did you get his name, his face, anything?"

"No, I didn't."

"Do you really still believe in the information he gave you?"

"Of course. This fox must have been a friend of Nick Wilde's or something, which only proves that this information is legit. If someone like this fox can pay off an army of polar bears, what would he do to Zootopia, especially now that he's back?"

"Where did you meet this source?"

"Bunnyburrow."

Judy blinked, then looked down at her hands for a minute.

"Thank you, Mark, for telling us all of this. You've been a great help. But, given that this information you have is making you a target, we'll have to put you under protective custody."

Judy stood and walked out of the room before Mark could say anything, a surprised look on his features. His eyes were wide as Officer Rhinowitz escorted Mark out as gently as possible.

Nick watched this as Judy walked into the room, a tired smile on her face. "Well, we've got a lead, and Mark won't be able to spill any info about you."

"But this source. Who is he? How does he know about me?"

"Well, that's what we're going to find out. Ready to go to Bunnyburrow? You can even meet my family if you want, since you never got the luxury of doing so before you left."

"Oh, I'm ready. I can only imagine the embarrassing childhood stories I'll hear."

"Do you really think I'll let that happen?"

"Hey, it's only fair. You know all of my stories."

"I don't think I'll ever know all of your stories, Nick."

"And, hopefully, neither will Zootopia."

The train to Bunnyburrow sped across the tracks leading out of Zootopia, Nick watching the shining city get smaller and smaller as they accelerated towards Judy's family. They would finally meet the fox friend of Judy that they'd known about for so long.

"I'm going to have to warn you, Nick. My dad isn't the biggest fan of foxes."

"I thought he wanted to meet me."

"That's what he told me, but when he sees you, just don't be surprised if he acts a bit cold at first."

"I'll just use my disarming charm to convince your father of my trustworthiness."

Judy rolled her eyes and adjusted her ZPD shirt to go over her jeans, looking over at Nick's usual green shirt and khakis, his work tie more loose around his neck than ever. Would it have killed him to wear something _different_ , at least?

The train sped on until it finally made it to Bunnyburrow, the doors opening and the intercom voice telling the passengers to have a good day.

As soon as Judy stepped off the train, her luggage behind her, she was tackled by a generous amount of small little bunnies, yelling their sister's name. Nick watched this happen through the window as he grabbed his own luggage and hesitantly stepped off the train. The fox could only imagine what would have happened if Judy hadn't called her family beforehand and told them she was coming.

Nick stepped off the train with his own luggage, preparing himself for a storm of little bunnies pushing him to the ground.

But they didn't.

Nick spotted Judy's parents, waving their daughter over as all of her little brothers and sisters jumped off and went back to their mom and dad. Nick helped Judy up and walked with her to the very, very large family in front of them. Judy didn't seem affected at all by the sight, while Nick looked pale. It wasn't that he didn't like kids.

He just didn't know how to process all of the hundreds of them.

Judy's mom, Bonnie, finally noticed the fox, and said, "Oh, you must be the friend we've been waiting so long to see. It's so good to finally meet you."

"It's very nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Hopps. I'm Nick. I hope I'm not imposing by being here."

"Of course not, sweetheart. Stu, come meet Nick."

Stu came over from where he had been hugging Judy and joined Bonnie's side. Judy was talking and hugging as many siblings she could at a time, taking regular glances over toward her parents to make sure her father didn't say something he would regret.

"So, you're the fella that gave Judy a new apartment," Stu said.

Nick shyly smiled, probably the first time Judy had seen Nick look shy, and said, "Yeah, I did. Your daughter's really helped me through a lot of stuff. You raised her well, Mr. Hopps."

Nick knew he had done something good then, because he saw a subtle change in the way Stu carried himself. His chest was a bit more puffed out, his chin slightly raised.

"Well, I guess I did do a good job raising her," Stu said, noticing the look from Bonnie. "We. We did a good job raising her." Nick looked over at Judy, who smiled back at him with a thumbs up.

"We were just about to eat, why don't you have dinner with us, Nick?" asked Bonnie.

"Sure, if that's okay," Nick responded, his hands in his pockets, his demeanor submissive, smiling back at the two little bunnies admiring the softness of his tail.

Belly full of warm food, the warm, safe feeling of home settling in the air, Nick sat in Judy's room. Judy sat on the bed across from him.

"You're family's pretty great," Nick said. "They didn't even treat me any differently like everyone else does. Your dad even seems to like me."

"I know. I can't believe how shy you were."

"I wasn't. But acting shy and showing submission is good for more dominant people like Stu. He likes to be the leader. I gave him that right."

Judy stared at him for a second, "What are you, some kind of psychologist?"

"I've read a book or two."

"Another Nick Wilde secret, huh?"

Nick just shrugged his shoulders with an innocent smile on his face. Judy looked down at her phone with a sigh.

"We need to get to bed," she said, laying down on the spot, having already showered and gotten her pajamas on.

Nick decided that sleeping in the same bed as Judy in her own house raised the risk of Judy's father walking in. Nick could only imagine the misunderstanding that would erupt from a sight like that.

So Nick, deciding to get a shower the next morning, grabbed a pillow and spare blanket and made himself a little makeshift bed on the floor. If Judy hadn't already fallen asleep, she would've probably argued against Nick doing such a thing, but still, it was for the best. Judy would understand that.

But as Nick turned the lamp light off, flooding the room with darkness, he felt a strange heaviness fall on him. A heaviness he'd only remembered feeling the first few times he'd scammed people.

Guilt. An overwhelming sense of guilt, at that.

After coming back to Zootopia with the pure intention of reconnecting with Judy and his other friends, having to drag those same friends into this mess of his was the last thing he wanted. Maybe it would be best if he'd just left Zootopia again.

No. He couldn't do that either. It was too late for that. Bogo had already selflessly agreed to put himself and even the ZPD's reputation on the line to fix a fox's problems. Judy was helping him in more ways than one, even ignoring her own partner to return to him. Finnick had risked arrest in order to save him from having to leave Zootopia again. His mother graciously let him live with her and cooked him meals, a luxury he hadn't had in years.

Even after all Nick had done, his friends were still there for him, still willing to make sacrifices for him. Why? Why would anyone want to risk anything for a shifty and untrustworthy fox? Why did Judy's family take him in so easily, feed him, treat him like a friend?

What did he do, after all the people he'd scammed, after the grief and chaos he'd cause from the kidnappings, to deserve this kind of kindness? The kindness he thought was no longer in the world.

Maybe he would stay in Zootopia after all.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Judy awoke feeling as rested as ever, her Gazelle poster staring down at her from the ceiling, the light beige walls soaking up the sunlight from her rather large window. Nick was still sound asleep next to her bed, his breathing slow and steady, his back to her.

Judy thought about how well Nick handled all of her siblings. She could tell how much it had overwhelmed him at first, but the fact that he'd greeted every single one that came up to him with a smile and a high five really impressed the bunny.

Judy loved how he could go from shy to confident so fast, shyly asking for Bonnie to pass the carrots, then confidently making a joke across the table, making everyone roar with laughter.

It was obvious to Judy that they had looked past his species and accepted who he was...or, at least, who he presented himself as. Still, as Judy was noticing, Nick was slowly allowing his confidence to come out. Smart. Subtly become his true self in order to prevent them from noticing his fake shyness. He truly was a sly fox. As many times as Judy had already said that to herself, as long as she'd already known it, he still managed to make her remind herself of how clever he could be.

As if he knew Judy was awake, Nick stirred and turned over on his back, rubbing his eyes while stretching and yawning. He looked over at Judy, who'd found herself staring at him, and smiled with a raised eyebrow.

"Like what you see?" he asked, "or are you just surprised that I woke up this early?"

"I'll let you decide," Judy said, standing up and going to her bathroom to get a shower. It was good to have a bathroom in her own room, Judy thought to herself. "I woke up first, so I get a shower first."

"Fair enough."

Nick stood up and rewarded himself for waking up earlier than usual by stretching again, the taste of morning in his mouth. His mind felt foggy and his body felt stiff from lack of movement for so long.

Was it weird that he'd gotten comfortable with sleeping on the floor?

Nick fondly recalled the nights where he slept in the darkest corner of an alleyway, or underneath a bridge when it was raining. Of course, those nights were admittedly few and far between, and Nick always found a way to make it more comfortable for himself.

Once Judy finished her shower, and Nick got one of his own, the duo went downstairs to find Bonnie and Stu working together to cook enough food for the bunnies already at the large table that appeared almost infinite.

"Morning, Jude," Stu said, not forgetting to wish Nick a good morning as well. "Ready for breakfast?"

"Actually, I was wondering if Nick and I could take the truck to Gideon's. Nick hasn't had the chance to taste any of his treats yet."

"Oh, that sounds fun," said Bonnie. "Sure, Judy, go ahead. Keys are on the rack."

Judy thanked her mom and took the keys before heading out the door with Nick following closely behind.

"Gideon. I've heard that name before," Nick said, trying to remember as he hopped into the truck with Judy, the sun providing much needed light to the crops of the farm, and accentuating the blue paint of the vehicle.

"Remember that story I told you about the fox bully that scratched my face and told me that I couldn't be anything but a 'stupid, carrot farming bunny'?"

"Yeah, that was…" Nick trailed off when he remembered where he had been when Judy had finally revealed that story. Judy cleared her throat and started the car, and Nick knew she remembered as well. "Anyway, you said you two were good?"

"Yep. Gideon grew up. Now he bakes."

"Why is it that you manage to change every fox you're around for the better?"

"Maybe I just have that charm." Judy smiled up at him for as long as the truck would allow before veering from the road.

"Or maybe you have a faith in people that no one else has. Score one for optimism."

The rest of the trip there was quiet, Nick looking out at all of the crops and other farms. Judy had to remind herself that this was probably the first time Nick had really seen this. Then again, she wasn't exactly sure what he'd seen after he left Zootopia. She made a note to ask him if he'd ever left Zootopia before.

Judy pulled up to the humble little bakery, parking the truck and killing the engine with a smile at Nick. "You ready for this?"

"We're entering a bakery, Carrots, not a naturalist club."

"Ugh, please do not remind me of that place."

"You're telling me you've never been a little curious as to what it's like?"

"Why?" Judy said, hopping out of the truck with Nick. "Have you partaken in the activities of that place before?"

"First of all, no. Second of all, these activities are the same ones people do with their clothes on. And thirdly, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'd be willing to try it."

Judy rolled her eyes, "City fox."

"Country bunny."

As soon as they walked into the bakery, the first thing Nick noticed was the smell, the aroma of pies and cakes and cookies all flooding his nose in an overwhelming wave of deliciousness. The overall look of the bakery was rather inviting with black and white checkered floors, wooden walls with different antiques on it, the tables painted an inviting red and white, and the beautiful display of all the kinds of treats they had.

The bakery was rather empty, not a surprise for this time of day. Judy tapped the bell at the front desk, and a moment later, a hefty red fox came out with a blue plaid shirt and a pink apron with a pie on it.

"Well, as I live and breathe, Judy Hopps has returned to my establishment. What can I help you and your fella with?"

"Gideon," Judy said. "I would like you to meet Nick Wilde. He's a close friend of mine." Judy stood on her toes and whispered in Gideon's ear, "And he really loves blueberries and coffee."

"Oh," Gideon said with a thumbs up, then extended his paw to Nick's. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilde." Nick kindly shook the baker's hand.

"I've heard quite a lot of things about you, Mr. Grey."

Gideon's ears went flat against his head with shyness. "Yeah. I'm sure you have. I carried a lot of stuff inside me when I was younger. Didn't let anyone in or talk about my emotions. But I learned and got better and wasn't afraid no more to be who I am. After that, I found myself to be a lot happier."

"You don't say," Nick said. "Well, I don't blame you for what happened years ago. We've all done things we're not proud of." Nick looked to Judy, a lazy smile on his face. "So, you're supposedly a pretty mean baker. Let's see what you got."

"Actually," Gideon said. "I think I got the perfect thing, just for you. Take a seat, I'll be right back."

"It seems I'm not the only fox you've taught how to be kinder. Of course, I was much more clever about how I got under your skin, just saying," Nick proudly remarked.

"Yes, I could never forget your ingenious plan to keep me at the DMV until nightfall."

Nick just rested his chin on his hand and sent a smile the bunny's way. "As dreadfully boring as it was, I figured it was better than five years for tax evasion."

"I doubt that." They both giggled at the memory. "So, did you ever leave Zootopia besides last year?"

"You know, I can't say I have," Nick said. "I was born there, raised there, hustled there. What was the point of leaving?"

"What job did you get after you left Zootopia and got your collar off?"

"A dead end job at some diner. I made just enough for food and a cheap apartment. I managed. But now, with the coffee shop, I'm making okay money. I just need to save up a little bit to get myself back on my feet completely."

"I'm glad you came back, Nick. Things were boring without my annoying little fox there to make dumb jokes."

"Glad to be back, Carrots." Gideon came from the back part of the bakery with a tray in hand.

"Alright," said the corpulent fox. "Two coffees, black, and a blueberry coffee cake."

"Oh, Gideon," Nick said. "You and I are going to be great friends."

Gideon smiled and returned to the back.

"And if I have a few more of these, we'll practically be twins."

Judy almost spit her coffee out.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Nick and Judy sipped on their coffee as they looked down at their handiwork. The tray that previously held the cake was now empty, save for a few crumbs. Judy thought about how many morning runs it would take for her to burn that off, and Nick just felt guilty that there was no more for later.

Gideon came back and took the tray, Judy asking how much it was.

"Ah, don't you worry about that. On the house."

"Really?"

"Thanks, man," Nick said. "I don't think I even need to tell you that we enjoyed it."

Gideon laughed, "No, I can see that for myself."

Nick smiled behind his coffee mug before draining the last bit of the liquid inside, placing the mug back on the table just as the door to the bakery opened. In walked in a large, familiar looking sheep.

Nick kept his focus on Judy but his peripherals on the sheep. Something about him just wasn't right. The way he carried himself, the angry look on his face, the professional tone to his voice as he ordered some donuts from Gideon.

Nick kept talking to Judy as the sheep looked at the display while waiting for his donuts. Judy seemed to notice as well, but followed Nick's lead and continued the conversation as if nothing was happening.

When the mystery sheep exited the bakery, Judy asked Gideon from where she sat, "Who was that?"

"He's a regular," Gideon said. "He comes in, orders something, leaves, and I see him at around the same time tomorrow."

"What's his name?" Nick asked.

"I think he said once his name was... Doug. Doug is his name."

Judy looked at Nick, and it clicked in both of their minds at once.

"Thanks again for the cake, Gideon," Judy said, her and Nick leaving the bakery to see where Doug was going.

"She always leaves in a hurry," Gideon said, hands on his hips. "Maybe it's a cop thing."

Nick and Judy hopped in the car and drove towards the green truck that travelled casually down the road.

"It's like the universe loves dropping clues in our lap," Nick said.

"It's called luck, and let's hope it gets us to wherever Doug's living."

"I thought he got arrested."

"So did I. But I never really followed up on it. I can't believe we missed him."

"What about Dumb and Dumber? The two sheep who were with Doug."

"They got arrested, I think. I should have suspected something after not hearing anything about Doug."

"Do you think he's the one threatening to release that information about me?"

"It fits. He worked with Bellwether, so he had to know about the serum she put in you. I just wonder how he got a video of you storming Mr. Big's."

"Well, it seems we're about to find out. Look."

Judy, trying to keep as far away from him as possible, watched as Doug parked his truck behind an old abandoned radio station. She parked the truck rather far away from the radio station and got out, Nick following her lead.

Judy lifted her red plaid shirt enough to pull out the taser she had stuffed into the back of her jeans.

"You seriously brought your taser with you?" Nick asked, his eyebrow raised higher than usual.

"We came to Bunnyburrow to find out who's going to leak the info about you, so yes, I brought my taser."

"How do we know Doug doesn't have people in there with him? Like guards or something?"

"We'll take care of it."

"Without calling backup?"

"The only possible backup we could get that would get here in time is the Bunnyburrow Sheriff's department, and they don't know how to handle situations like this. Besides, how would we explain the reason for arresting Doug in the first place?"

"Yeah, I guess you have a point."

"We'll be fine, Nick. We've faced worse threats than this."

They walked closer and closer to the station until Nick pushed Judy into the tall crops to her left, diving in behind her.

"Nick, what're you–"

"Security cameras," he said, peeking out and pointing at the station. "See?"

Judy squinted her eyes, just barely making out the cameras on each corner of the station.

"By the time we get in there, Doug may have already gotten out," Nick continued.

Judy looked for a minute, waiting to see if the cameras had some sort of movement pattern, then said, "We should be able to get in if we sneak through the rest of these crops and make a beeline for the middle. The two cameras in the front are facing in just a way that we shouldn't be visible."

"I'll take your word for it, Carrots," Nick said, the two walking through the crops as slowly as they could to prevent them from making too much movement and giving away their position.

"I hope he didn't see the truck on the cameras, or us walking as far as we did."

"He's probably had enough jobs to forget our faces, so to him, two strangers got out of a truck and went into the crops together. Trust me, Carrots, the last thing he's thinking is that two cops are on a mission to arrest him."

Judy was glad that Nick wasn't able to see her blush through the crops and continued through them until they reached the edge.

"Yeah, I see what you're talking about now," Nick said. "These cameras must have moved at some point. Well...you ready?"

Judy nodded and ran with Nick in a straight line to the radio station, hoping that this wasn't for nothing and Doug could see them after all.

The duo snuck around the back of the station, checking for cameras and making sure Doug wasn't still in his truck.

"What now?" Nick asked.

Judy saw a camera pointed towards Doug's truck, so searching that was out of the question. She kept her back as close against the wall as she could to avoid the camera's cold gaze, making her way to the door.

Much to Judy's surprise, the door didn't even have a lock on it. She figured someone as paranoid as Doug would have managed to find a way to keep mammals from being able to just walk in. Maybe he thought the cameras were enough.

Judy and Nick slipped inside the dark building and walked into the hallway to find a door that was slightly ajar, the sound of movement coming from inside. Judy kept her taser close and walked slowly, quietly, to the room.

She took a deep breath, hoping this went smoothly, then pushed the door open and pointed the taser directly at the chest of the seated sheep, sitting and facing her as if he'd been expecting her.

The first thing Judy saw was a large computer holding the feed from all the cameras.

One of them was for the hallway she and Nick had just walked through. How could she have been so careless? Still, she kept her taser pointed right at him.

"Can I help you, Officer?" Doug asked, his voice menacing. Judy couldn't see a weapon in his hand anywhere, but there was nothing saying he didn't have one hidden, just like that blasted camera. Where was Nick?

"Doug Ramses," Judy said, "you are under arrest for the creation and distribution of the nighthowler serum."

"Distribute. Isn't that a word," Doug said, a noise resembling a cough and a laugh mixed in with what he said. "And are you sure you aren't just here to arrest me for this?" Doug pressed a button, and a video played. Judy watched as the Nick she saw that night, the Nick that choked her and kidnapped her, walked casually towards Mr. Big's mansion, his polar bears breaking down the door. Only two polar bears were loyal enough to fight for Mr. Big. Judy remembered the catastrophe that was the mansion when she'd investigated it with Nick. Now she watched how it all happened. The Nick she saw had empty eyes, evil eyes. He had no interest in anything that was happening. It sent chills up Judy's spine, then anger.

It wasn't Nick's fault that he'd done any of this. It was this sheep, sitting right in front of her. He was the reason that Nick had to go through everything. Doug had to know this, though, so why was he bothering to show her any of this?

The video stopped just as one of the polar bears grabbed Mr. Big in his paw.

"One more press of a button, and this video will be uploaded to anything and everything in Zootopia with a screen."

"Why are you doing this to him? He's just one fox. What's your problem with him?"

"Oh, it's not just one fox. No, revealing Nick is just a bonus for him helping you destroy my train car. This video will prove that Nick Wilde, former officer of the ZPD, was actually a savage predator. Nobody will trust predators, especially those in the ZPD, and especially since the ZPD kept it so under wraps."

"Bellwether admitted to shooting Nick with that experimental serum. The jig is up."

"And who heard that confession besides yourself, Officer?"

"If you could upload the video so easily, then why haven't you done it yet?"

"I sent that tiger to tell the fennec fox what I was doing for a reason. I told him to reveal that someone was in Bunnyburrow with the information. He played his part perfectly, I assume, given your presence here. I wanted to see the look on your face as you watched the future of Zootopia crumble before your very eyes. I was hoping that your fox friend would be here, too, but he seems to be hiding in the other room, the coward."

"What?"

"I watched him slip into the room next to us as you barged in here. He doesn't want to face me. He left you to deal with me alone. Some friend, huh?"

Judy let her arm fall to her side, the taser still in her hand, "Fine. Go ahead. Broadcast the video, see what happens. No one will believe it."

"We'll see." Doug pressed the button, knowing that he finally would succeed, not only in getting revenge, but ensuring that the predators of Zootopia would never be trusted again. Except, when he pressed the button, a red notification popped up, following a dud sound. "What?" Doug pressed the button again, and the same notification popped up, saying that there was no connection to broadcast the video.

"Oh no!" A shout came from the next room. "I hope this wire wasn't important!" Nick walked into the room, holding a piece of a wire he'd cut with his claws. Doug wheeled around to look at the wire that connected the computer to the radio tower, the same color rubber on it.

"You cut my connection," Doug said to the fox, looking absolutely flabbergasted.

"Yeah, for a professional, you really didn't do a good job. Maybe you should just stick with chemistry."

Doug stood from the seat to charge at Nick, but Judy was ready. She jumped up on Doug and backflipped off of his chest, kicking him in the face. Doug went backwards, his momentum still pushing him towards Nick, who simply sidestepped as Doug collided with the ground and slid into the wall. Passing the taser to Nick, Judy cuffed the sheep and nodded at the fox.

"And just for good measure," Nick said, pointing the taser at the computer and firing, the electric shock short-circuiting the device. "No more video." And just like that, the threat was over.

Just as they planned.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Nick and Judy sat at the kitchen table in Judy's apartment, eating Italian food from a new place Nick had walked by a few times. Laughter filled the room as Nick made jokes, and Judy shot back with her own.

"You know, I never thanked you," Nick said, "for helping me with this. For saving my freedom to live here in Zootopia."

"No problem," Judy said. "If I'm being honest, it felt good going on a real case for once. I'm just surprised Chief Bogo was so willing to go along with it."

"Yeah, me too. Who knew the chief had a soft spot for his officers? Even the ones who left for a year."

"You know, Chief Bogo might actually consider reinstated into the ZPD."

Nick took a moment to fill his mouth full of pasta to give himself time to consider how he would respond. With a swallow, he said, "Listen, Carrots, I can't say that I don't miss being a cop sometimes, but I like what I have now. I get paid to manage a coffee shop. Sure, it doesn't sound that glamorous, but it gives me more freedom, utilizes my business savvy. I've just got a good thing going on."

"Well," Judy said, looking down at her food, "if you reconsider, let me know."

"It'd be hard not to. I am spending a lot more time with you. Need to make up for lost time."

"Yeah, a year's worth of it."

"I can do that."

"If you keep bringing me free food, I don't care what you do."

Nick chuckled. "So, you want to watch a movie now?"

"Isn't that the usual routine when you come over?"

"It sure has been for the past few days."

Judy sat on the couch as Nick put in the movie he had picked out on his way to her apartment. As many times as she'd asked him to tell her what movie it was, he simply changed the subject.

"Now do you want to tell me what movie it is?"

"I'll let the movie do that." Nick sat down beside his friend on the couch and watched the little bunny as she looked increasingly annoyed with each second it took for the disc to load. After a generous few trailers, ones that Nick graciously skipped past, the title finally came up, and Judy's jaw dropped.

"No way," she said.

"Yeah way," Nick said. "I present to you, Floatzen 2, complete with shocked bunny factor."

"This movie isn't supposed to be out for another few months."

"Correct, which is why you and I are sworn to secrecy. Wouldn't want to spoil the movie before it even came out."

"Nick... this is a legal copy, right?"

"Come on, Carrots, what do you take me for?" Nick grew a sly smile. "A shifty fox?"

"Where did you get this movie? I thought you just stopped by a rental place or something."

"I know a guy who knows a guy who knows the creators of Floatzen. I had to pull some strings, empty my wallet a little, but you have, right before you, a real, legitimate, and legal copy of Floatzen 2."

"Floatzen is my favorite movie."

"And now you're about to see your new favorite movie."

Judy stopped for a moment, then looked at Nick. Before the fox knew what was happening, the bunny had her arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Thank you, Nick. This means a lot to me."

"Well, it's the least I can do for my little bunny." Nick rubbed the top of her head, her ears flopping. "Now, movie time." Nick pressed play and Judy looked like a child on Christmas as the movie finally started.

~Prey~

About a quarter of the way through the movie, a knock sounded on Judy's door. Nick paused the movie and asked if Judy had been expecting company. The bunny shook her head no and got up to answer it.

As soon as Judy opened the door, she saw Stacy standing there.

"Hey, I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."

"Stacy. Um…" Judy glanced at Nick, knowing she shouldn't have. "What're you doing here?"

"I know it's kinda late, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean, you kinda disappeared on us after that fox came to the precinct. The chief wouldn't say anything about it."

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"What happened? Who was that fox?"

Nick wasn't sure if he should get up. On one paw, he wanted to know what exactly was going on, but on the other paw, this girl did not seem to be a big fan of foxes.

"He's an old friend of mine. Had a case for me, top secret stuff. I really shouldn't even be telling you, so I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

"You should be careful, Hopps. You can't trust foxes. What was this case? Are you sure it wasn't a trap? You should have taken me with you in case it was."

Judy looked down, then at Nick, then nodded at him. Nick knew what she was asking for, and stood up from his spot on the couch.

"Hi," Nick said in his friendliest voice. Judy could already tell that he was analyzing what he could about her. He would shape his personality to suit her needs, whatever they were. "I'm Nick."

Stacy stared at him, then looked at Judy, then back at Nick, a dangerous look on her face.

This chick must really hate foxes, Nick thought when seeing that stare.

"The case I had for Officer Hopps here involved a sheep who escaped custody a year back. I was visiting Bunnyburrow when I saw him. I remembered him, actually."

Stacy looked as if she would rather chew glass than talk to Nick, but the wolf settled with walking away instead.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Judy."

Judy sighed and closed the door, knowing there was nothing she would be able to say to diffuse whatever anger was going through Stacy.

"Your new partner?" said Nick.

"My new partner."

"Look, just explain, Judy. I used to be an officer, I quit, came back with news of Doug. You can tell her that I helped you with the nighthowler case. There, easy. You explain the situation without compromising my secret."

"That is, if she even listens to me."

There was silence for a moment.

"I'm sure she'll come around. People didn't trust that a bunny could become a police officer, including myself. You proved everyone wrong then, I'm sure you can do it now." Nick smiled down at her, and Judy seemed to find a bit of comfort in that. "You wanna finish the movie?"

Now it was Judy's turn to smile. "Do you even need to ask?"

~Prey~

Judy walked into her cubicle, Stacy already on her computer near Judy's. If only Stacy knew that a fox had once sat in that chair every day and pretended to do paperwork. Judy sat down quietly and turned her chair to face her partner.

"Stacy," Judy said, and the wolf stopped typing. "We need to talk about what happened, but I need you to be open minded about this."

Stacy sighed, "Fine. I'm listening."

Judy explained it all. The nighthowler case, Nick being her partner, having to go after Doug because he had escaped arrest. Judy carefully made sure to leave out Nick's problem, and finished up the story with why he was in her apartment last night.

"He just brought food and we watched a movie. I haven't seen him in a while, so can you really blame me for wanting to be around him?"

"No," Stacy said. "It's just– my mom was scammed by a fox when I was a kid. We almost lost everything, and since then, she always told me how untrustworthy they were."

"But you don't know Nick. He's not like that. Look, just give him a chance, he won't disappoint you."

In that moment, Nick walked into the office with donuts and coffee.

"Morning, ladies," Nick said, handing a coffee to Judy and Stacy. Stacy hesitantly took the cup in her paw, surprised that this fox actually thought to get her one.

Nick set the bag down, and Judy excused herself with the bathroom, demanding that Nick not take sip of her coffee on her way out the door.

Nick sat down in Judy's chair and took a chocolate donut hole out of the bag, popping it into his mouth with a smile. Stacy watched, remembering that she had skipped breakfast that morning, then got a donut hole of her own.

"So, you're Judy's new partner?"

"Yeah," Stacy said, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. "I hear that you used to be her partner?"

"I used to be, yeah. Some things came up and I had to leave, but I'm back now, obviously."

"Have you thought about reinstating?"

"You sound like Carrots now. No, I don't think I'm reinstating. But I wasn't planning on joining the ZPD in the first place so who knows, maybe your partner will convince me."

"Yeah, she seems like a pretty determined bunny."

"She went against all odds and became a cop. Yeah, I'd say she is pretty determined."

Stacy felt the awkward tension in the room, and prayed that Judy came back soon.

"Look, I know you don't exactly trust foxes, but I can show you that we're not all bad. How about I treat you to dinner tonight? I know a place that has the best pasta in Zootopia. That is, if you're willing to give me a chance."

Stacy stared for a second, thinking about what Judy said. With a sigh, the wolf looked up at the confident looking fox, a casual smile on his face. Stacy wondered if that smile was just permanently on his face. Everytime she'd seen him, that same lazy smile haunted her.

"Okay," Stacy said. "I'll give you a chance to make me trust you. Just don't mess it up."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Nick was aware that he'd accidentally asked Stacy Snowclaw on a date. Especially since he was wearing a casual blue button up with black pants, and she was wearing a beautiful red dress. This place didn't have any kind of dress code or anything, so Stacy had worn this dress of her own volition.

They sat at the restaurant Nick had recommended, Stacy looking around at the scenery, and Nick watching with a smile, as every person he took here seemed to be entranced by the decorations. The place had a tree with lights around it in the center of the restaurant, with a fountain surrounding it. Lights brightened the murals on the wall, the drawings representations of the unity between predator and prey.

Nick noticed one of the murals held the image of two black silhouettes shaped suspiciously like a bunny and a fox. The fox had its maw open, teeth out, ready to fulfill its duty as a predator. The bunny was trying to hop away with every inch of will it could muster up to escape the quick fox. Then, below the image, water reflected the image, except it was not predator against prey. The fox and the bunny were standing upright, holding each other. Nick could tell what the bottom part of the image was representing from the silhouette of the veil over the bunny's head.

Nick thought about that note he'd given Judy before he'd left Zootopia. Judy had asked him about it, offered him, it seemed, to admit that it wasn't real. It was as if she'd read his mind and knew that he had no idea what to feel about the little bunny cop. He couldn't deny that there was something there, but he didn't want it there. He didn't want to feel so vulnerable around anyone, even if it was the bunny that knew everything about him and his past.

Nick shook those thoughts as he refocused his attention on Stacy. Tonight was about proving that foxes could be trusted, so that's what he was going to do.

"Interested in the fountain or the tree _in_ the fountain?" Nick asked, getting the wolf's attention.

"The fountain. It's so pretty," Stacy said, finally tearing her concentration away from it. "I never knew restaurants had them."

"Only the really good ones do. It's like a secret message for the customers, a way of saying, 'Hey, fountain means good food.' At least, that's what I've noticed in the restaurants I've been in."

"This is a pretty cool restaurant, I have to admit."

"Wow, and you haven't even tasted the food yet. I never knew fancy scenery had that effect on you."

"Well, the art is beautifully drawn, for one. I've never really been much of an artist myself, but I've tried." Stacy looked at it for a second. "I'm just going to say that it's a coincidence that you took me to a restaurant with this kind of art with the intentions of convincing me foxes aren't bad."

"Ah, and you've foiled my plans of using subliminal messages to brainwash you."

Stacy laughed, only if it was because that joke was stupid. She had to admit Nick seemed nice enough. He had a charming smile when he wanted to, and he knew how to treat a girl. Not to mention Judy trusted him, and Stacy trusted Judy. Still, it'd be a stretch to say that she specifically trusted the fox.

The food came and the two ate and talked, and Stacy found herself allowing herself to be more comfortable and laugh more in front of the fox. He had such a clever way of turning something she said around into a joke. He was chill, and casually, politely ate his pasta.

Once the food was gone and the plates were taken away by the waiters, Nick told Stacy to stay for a minute. The wolf hesitated, then sat back down in her seat, wondering what the fox had planned now. The bill came while they were waiting, and Stacy didn't even get the opportunity to have it in her hands. Nick just paid for the food like it was nothing, and sent the waiter away with a smile and a generous tip.

Stacy used to be a waiter. She remembered how horrible it was to try and scrounge up enough money from tips to provide for herself. The fact that Nick had done that gave him a few points in her book.

"Look, it's starting to get late. Don't you think we should go?" Stacy asked, but Nick just smiled at her and told her that it would only be another minute or so.

Stacy was usually never up this late for anything, and the thought of her bed was prominent in her mind. But when she saw the cake come out of the back with candles lit, she forgot everything about bedtime.

"Happy Birthday, Stacy," Nick said, his voice as smooth as silk as he watched the cake get placed in front of the wolf. This place wasn't exactly the type to sing happy birthday to anyone, but Stacy didn't seem to mind at all as the workers wished her a happy birthday and walked to the back.

Stacy looked up at him, a shocked expression on her face, "My birthday isn't for another two weeks. How did you know it was so close?"

"I did some digging. I figured tonight would be the perfect opportunity to give you your cake."

Stacy couldn't remember the last time someone had given her a cake for her birthday. It felt good as she cut a nice slice of it and began her journey of sugar that she would most likely regret later.

Nick walked with Stacy to her apartment, their bellies full of pasta and cake, Stacy practically bubbling from happiness. It felt good to just have a night of enjoyment. In her years as a police officer, she'd never allowed herself to have much fun. There was an unsettling feeling in her stomach as she realized how nice Nick had turned out to be. She just pushed it down.

"We're here," Stacy said. "Look... I know I was hesitant to trust you, and I really didn't think you'd be able to convince me tonight, but... hey, good job, you actually managed to do it."

"Well, don't confuse me for someone who's always fancy. I'm just as willing to order a pizza in sweatpants."

"Good to know." Stacy laughed. "Thanks for tonight. It was... it was fun."

"Well, I'm a fun guy."

Stacy looked to her apartment, then appeared to be thinking for a second. Nick was caught off guard when she leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek before rushing into her apartment, leaving him there to shrug off whatever just happened and make his way to his own apartment.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Stacy reflected on the night before as she and Judy walked out of a nearby coffee shop. The sweet armadillo, Mrs. Cumberbun, had offered the two police officers free donuts with their coffee. Judy accepted the offer, but Stacy remembered the cake she had last night and decided against it.

"I never thought of you as much of a donut person," Stacy said, sipping on the last of her coffee.

"I like to have one now and again," Judy said, "but these are for Nick. I don't really feel like donuts now, but that dumb fox has been bringing me food so I guess I owe him one."

"Why does he bring you food so often, anyway?"

"I'm not sure. I guess he just has more money to spend now than when he was a cop. Besides, he says he wants to make up for the time he was gone. I won't complain."

Judy swallowed, for she did, in fact, have a theory about why Nick kept bringing her food and movies and letting her keep his apartment. He was practically spoiling her and throwing money at her. She knew that beneath that cocky exterior, Nick was actually pretty selfless and sweet. Judy wondered if, just maybe, Nick was bringing her food as an apology for what he did in his nighthowler induced state. She assumed he never remembered what he did that night, but she had told him.

Nick had kidnapped his best friend, his partner, his... Carrots. Maybe he was just trying to make up for being gone, but Judy couldn't stop thinking that he was trying to make up for something more.

Stacy wondered if there was some sort of past between Judy and Nick as she got into the car and let Judy drive them back out onto the streets of Zootopia. They seemed like they were together once. In fact, she'd originally had the impression that they were dating when they were watching that movie. Two mammals watching a movie late at night, it seemed like something a couple would do.

But when Judy had explained everything to her about Nick being a police officer, she seemed to leave out that detail. And Nick didn't seem very upset about the fact that she kissed him on the cheek. Then again, the fox had a way about hiding his true feelings that was utterly impressive. He was a fox, after all.

Why had she kissed him in the first place? She didn't have feelings for the fox. He was really charming, though, and he took the time to learn about her and try to get her to trust him. Maybe that was just her way of thanking the kind fox.

Still, Stacy knew she really ought to be thinking of other things and staying focused on her police work. She was a police officer, first and foremost. She would need to be alert at all times, not thinking about some fox who'd charmed her into actually trusting him.

"Stacy," Judy said. "Look." The white wolf followed Judy's gaze to an antelope who was staring straight at them with a face that looked much less than happy. His arms were folded and he simply leaned against the wall of the building.

He just stood there. And stared.

Then, with a look that resembled a mammal challenging a king for his throne, the antelope walked into the alleyway.

"What about it? We get stares all the time. We're officers, it's what happens."

"Not like that," Judy said. "And not from a mammal a taser in his hand."

Stacy hadn't noticed a taser. How had she missed that?

"You think it's a trap?"

"Not sure," Judy said absentmindedly. "But he looks suspicious. We should at least check it out." Judy parked the car on the side of the road. "Be careful."

Stacy had her taser in her hand while Judy had one of her own. The officers stepped into the alleyway, not seeing any sign of the once present and angry looking antelope. Judy looked around and above and pretty much anywhere the antelope could be and yet, nothing. Maybe she had over-exaggerated. Still, it had been worth the look. As Judy turned to head back to the car, she felt the two little pincers, then the worst shock of her life. Judy was on the ground as the antelope tased the officer. Stacy immediately shot her own taser, the antelope going down as soon as the electricity shot through his veins.

Stacy cuffed the antelope and went to Judy, making sure her partner was okay.

"I'm fine," Judy said. "That was quite a rush though." The bunny gave an unenthusiastic laugh. They shoved the antelope in the car and got back into their own seats, Stacy driving this time. Judy wondered, as Stacy drove, how it felt to be shocked like that... when it was a collar around your neck…

Judy felt much better from her mishap this morning. Bogo had recommended for her to get checked by a doctor and make sure that nothing was wrong, but Judy hadn't been tased that bad. She'd faced worse before.

Still, as she heard the usual knock on her door, Judy had to decide if she would bother telling Nick. She was, after all, practically pressuring the fox into talking about his feelings, something that she was sure couldn't be easy for someone who'd trained himself to hide them so well.

Judy opened the door and, as usual, Nick stood there with a bag of food, drinks, and that sly smile.

"Good evening, Carrots," Nick said, mocking the saying with the voice of a certain famous vampire from an old movie.

"Come in, Count Blabula, and sit down before I throw you into the sun."

"Ouch, that sounds harsh. You really are a stone cold cop, Carrots, you know that?"

"What I know is pasta when I smell it," Judy said. "And I was actually craving spaghetti today."

"Was that before or after you got tased?"

Judy stopped rummaging through the bag and looked up at her ex-partner, the silence heavy on her shoulders.

"Who told you?"

"Stacy. She called and told me to make sure you were alright."

"I was going to tell you tonight, you know," Judy said. "I just wanted to wait until the moment came up."

"I get it, I'm not mad. I just want to know if you're okay."

"Nick, it was one taser. It's not like it's some severe medical emergency, and besides, you went through way worse than me in that regard."

"I hate it when you do that," Nick said, taking his plate of spaghetti. "Try to make my problems bigger than everyone else's, especially yours."

"I just care about you, Nick."

"You care about me too much, Carrots. I don't blame you for that, it's just who you are. You're selfless, you help people, it's your job. I just– I want you to take care of yourself now and again. You'll burn out otherwise. And yes, I know what it feels like to be electrocuted, but Stacy also told me that this was one of those black market tasers they've been making recently. Those things are nasty, Judy."

At the sound of Nick saying her real name, Judy sighed, realizing how serious the fox really was.

"Look, Nick, I really am fine. If I think I need to go to the doctor, I promise you I will. I know my body, Nick. I can tell when something's wrong with it."

Nick looked at her for a minute, "I suppose that's the best I'm going to get." He opened his container. "At least it's something."

"So," Judy said, opening her own pasta box. "You seemed to get Stacy to trust you pretty well if you managed to get her to call you like that."

"Or she could just be your partner that's worried about you. But, yeah, she does trust me now. Thanks for telling me it was almost her birthday."

"No problem. I figured it would seal the deal." Judy took a bite of her spaghetti, trying not to look gross as she slurped up the noodles.

"Well, Stacy really sealed the deal when she kissed me on the cheek." Judy almost choked on her spaghetti, but managed to keep it down. She managed to let it sound like she was clearing her throat. Before she could ask about what happened, Nick turned the T.V. on and mentioned something about watching another movie as if he hadn't just dropped a bombshell.

"So…" Judy said, wondering how she was going to word this question, until she heard what was happening on the T.V.

Someone was on the screen, their face distorted so wildly that their species was indistinguishable. The voice was equally as distorted to sound overly deep.

"You have all been lied to. The ZPD are not your protectors. They are blinding you, keeping you ignorant to the real dangers of Zootopia for their own benefit. We've recently discovered that an officer of the ZPD has been infected with the same virus that plagued this city over a year ago. A predator going savage, kidnapping innocent mammals, has all been kept from you by the ZPD. The identity of this predator is currently unknown, thanks to the efforts of Zootopia's finest. However, we have managed to salvage a video taken by a reliable source."

Nick didn't seem to be breathing, and he was gripping the remote tightly as a video played of Judy walking the cuffed Doug out of the abandoned radio station.

"This sheep knows the identity of this predator, and he even had video proof of one of the kidnappings. And Judy Hopps, the most revered officer of the ZPD, arrested this good Samaritan for trying keep the mammals of Zootopia safe. But fear not. We will keep you safe. The ZPD can no longer hide behind their lies and secrets and subterfuge.

"We are Prey, and we are strong if we stand together."


	14. Chapter 14

5

Chapter 14

The face disappeared, and that was before Nick turned the T.V. off, still holding the remote tightly in his hand. Judy stared at him, not knowing what to say, too busy fearing the loss of her job as well as the ZPD's possible destruction of reputation.

"Bogo should have never helped me," Nick said. "What's he going to do?"

"Well," Judy said. "Do you really think anyone is going to believe what they just saw? I mean, a mysterious group basically just threatened the ZPD, which has been helping people for years. And Doug was a sheep who escaped arrest, so we can put an end to whatever scheme this group is planning because of that."

"Yeah," Nick said. "But they've already planted doubt in everyone's mind. Everyone in Zootopia will have this broadcast in mind whenever the ZPD does something that would be deemed strange or out of place. This group is definitely going to be a thorn in the ZPD's side, proof or no proof of what they're spouting."

"You have a point," Judy said. "We'll have to talk to Bogo about it tomorrow. For now, we should go ahead and get some sleep. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"Agreed."

Judy got up with a stretch, realizing suddenly how tired she was, and put away the remaining food before heading to her bedroom to get some much-needed sleep. Before climbing into her own bed, though, she gathered up a pillow and blanket and gave them to Nick so that he would at least get a decent night's sleep.

"If you have a nightmare, you can come in my room with me."

"I'll be fine, Mom. Honestly, Carrots, you're spoiling me now." Nick smiled up at her as he laid his head back on the pillow. Judy rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly on the shoulder. Tired, she returned to her bedroom and fell asleep faster than she thought she would, trying to ignore the feeling of fear that rose in her chest from Prey. Whoever this group was, they would have to put a stop to it. But how could they? All this group was doing was spouting nonsense. Freedom of speech, and all that. Still, this seemed more like an anarchist group than anything, so it wouldn't be long before they did something illegal. Then the ZPD would be there.

And they'd be ready.

~ **Prey~**

It was three in the morning, and Nick had still not fallen asleep. The moment he had been left in complete silence and darkness, his mind started racing. This was his fault. If he had just stayed away from Zootopia, none of this would have happened. Was it too late? What if he just left again? This group, Prey, seemed to know when he came to Zootopia if they had given Doug that video and a mission. He knew he shouldn't be afraid. Zootopia would have a hard time trusting a group that employed a criminal.

Still, it was a good plan. Judy probably wouldn't let him go, though, not again.

Why had he come back to Zootopia, anyway? If he was being one hundred percent honest with himself, what reason had Nick had for coming back? Was it because he was raised here? Was it because he hated life outside of the sparkling buildings of Savannah Central?

Or was it because of a certain little bunny that haunted his dreams when he was away from her for too long? Nick turned on his side, staring through the darkness at the coffee table with. He had absolutely no idea why he thought of Judy so much, or why he wrote her a note expressing his feelings for her.

He didn't lie in that note.

But he did lie when he told her he didn't mean what was in it.

Nick had absolutely no idea what he felt for Judy, sometimes. There were times when he looked at her, and he knew she was his friend. Then, there were times when he looked at her and was transported to a world where they were something more.

Nick had never actually been in a real relationship before. He'd closed himself off too much, played his cards too close to his chest. He'd never even been interested in being in a relationship. He had his job—that job being a con artist, but a job nonetheless.

Maybe he liked the bunny as more than a friend, or maybe he'd just reached a higher level of friendship with her than he did other mammals.

Nick fell asleep, having stopped thinking about Prey long enough to do so.

The next few days would certainly be eventful, but hopefully he and Judy would both be ready for when it happened.

~ **Prey~**

The next morning, Judy and Nick went to the precinct. While Judy seemed to not notice it—or maybe she was just ignoring it—Nick listened carefully to each conversation when they passed by mammals on the street. He was pleased to not hear much about Prey at all. And the only conversations he did hear were mainly people saying that they weren't sure if it was some sort of publicity stunt or not.

As soon as they arrived at the precinct, Bogo didn't hesitate to tell them to join everyone else in the briefing room. Unlike the usual noise of the officers yelling and talking, the room was silent. A few of the officers in the room noticed Nick's presence, and they either smiled or treated his presence like he hadn't been gone for a year. Nick couldn't believe that, after everything these men probably knew about him, they still seemed to have no qualms with him being there. They knew what he'd done. One way or another, there was no keeping it a secret from the other officers that Nick Wilde had gone crazy. Except for Stacy. None of the officers had even mentioned what happened to the white wolf, even when Nick had returned. That was a kind of loyalty that Nick still couldn't comprehend.

Maybe they knew he'd been infected with another strand of the nighthowler serum. Had Judy told them about it? She had to have told them, otherwise they wouldn't have so readily trusted him when he returned. Or, sort of readily, at least.

Nick sat in the seat next to Judy and Stacy, and Bogo looked out at the room full of officers, as if waiting for them to be rowdy again.

"I am sure you are all aware of the message that appeared on the televisions of every resident of Zootopia last night, given that you are all more quiet than usual. This group, Prey, they call themselves, has claimed responsibility over supposedly protecting Zootopia, by threatening to reveal secrets of the ZPD."

"They showed that Doug guy on that video of Hopps over there arresting him," Fangmeyer said. "Didn't he escape arrest over a year ago?"

"Yes. I assumed he'd simply left Zootopia. But that isn't what I want to talk about with all of you. Most of you know the incident that took place a year ago with our fox officer, Nick Wilde. He was infected with a new strain of the nighthowler serum that forced him into a predatory mindset—although a much more sophisticated one, in which he kidnapped several mammals, and put a lot of others in danger.

"For a year now, you've all known this already, and yet you kept it a secret. Doug, this sheep that escaped arrest, was trying to expose Wilde's predicament mere days after he arrived in Zootopia. We arrested Doug for escaping arrest, thereby eliminating the risk of Wilde's exposure. Now, it seems that this group does not have any actual proof of what they claim, but we need to be prepared and careful that this group doesn't manage to get their hands on anything they can use against us."

At this point, Officer Jackson stood up. "Chief Bogo, I have to ask. Why did we help him in the first place? Look, no offense, Wilde, okay? I know you weren't here long, but you were one of my favorite's here. But couldn't you just leave Zootopia again? I mean, I know I'm not the only one thinking it. Why should we drag the entirety of the ZPD down in order to protect one ex-officer that was gone for a year? His presence is all this group seems to be interested in if they only revealed themselves days after Nick's arrival."

"I thought the same thing myself," Nick said to himself, and Judy stared at him. Stacy just looked up, wishing now that she had transferred here at some other time. She wouldn't look at the fox.

"What?" Jackson said.

"I thought the same thing myself, Jackson." It was Nick's turn to stand up now. "I've thought several times now about leaving Zootopia again, but this group won't just stop now. They're priority is taking down the ZPD. They're just using me to get to you. Once I'm gone—and they'll probably know when—they'll just find something else to use against you. Heck, they may even use the fact that you didn't tell anyone about the kidnappings."

"Then why did we keep it a secret in the first place?" Anderson said. "I mean, we knew that Nick was responsible for all of those kidnappings."

"Bellwether was responsible," Judy chimed in, standing in her chair. "She gave Nick that serum."

"Then why didn't we just announce that? We could've just said that one of our officers was infected with a serum, and that we were working on some sort of cure."

"Mayor Lionheart wanted to keep it under wraps," Bogo said.

"Because I asked him for help," Nick whispered, realizing with more and more clarity that he should never have asked Lionheart for anything.

"How do these people not know who you are, Nick?" Wolford said. "Didn't they know when you came here?"

"Maybe they're trying to make sure they have everyone's attention first. Keep making messages until they know people will believe them when they reveal it to be Nick," Judy said.

Nick felt like his head was going to explode. He'd messed up everything, any chance the ZPD had of keeping the city's trust, by asking for help. He should have known that relying on someone else was a stupid idea. Depending on himself and himself only was how he'd managed in Zootopia. Now everything was just one big mess.

"Look, a lot of mistakes happened, and a lot of opportunities passed us by, but we can still change this. My whole life, all I've done is run away from situations. That's what I did. I was a coward. I didn't think of the complications that would arise once I arranged my disappearance from Zootopia." Nick paused for a second, as if he was trying to believe that he was actually spilling his real feelings out to a bunch of his old friends. "I'm tired of running. It took me a long time to figure out why I came back to Zootopia. It was because I was sick of spending my entire life running away from my problems instead of facing them. But in order to face all of this, I need the rest of you there with me. The ZPD has always been there to protect people. A secret or two isn't going to change a thing. This group isn't just after me, they're after the ZPD. They're going after predators, just like Bellwether did. Why do you think they named themselves Prey? Maybe this was Bellwether's plan all along, who knows? All I know is that I'm going to do what I can to stop this group. But I know I won't be able to succeed without all of you."

Every officer seemed to be holding their breath. None of them—except Judy—had ever heard Nick so passionate about anything. They'd always seen the sly fox that got on Bogo's nerves more than anyone else.

"Well," Officer Grizzoli said. "You're right about one thing, Wilde. A lot of mistakes have been made. I, for one, am not going to sit back and let this thing happen. I'll help you stop this group, not just for the ZPD's sake, but for yours as well. I never leave a fellow officer behind. And even though you don't wear the badge anymore, you're just as much ZPD as the rest of us. So I'm with you."

That was all they needed. As if a switch had been flipped, each officer stood up and said they would help Nick, some with intentions purely for the ZPD, others for Nick himself, and others because they didn't like the fact that there was a potentially dangerous group in Zootopia and they hadn't done anything about it already.

"Alright," Bogo said, everyone sitting back down, "now that we've got that out of the way, we need to address what we're going to do about Prey. While they haven't technically done anything illegal yet in the public's eyes, Mayor Lionheart has issued that there will be a press conference held here at the ZPD tomorrow. They should be setting it up by this afternoon so it'll be ready. This is just a hunch, but this will be our chance to expose Prey's employment of Doug. I doubt Prey are going to let this happen. We need to be ready for anything. We'll have a camera put on each of your uniforms. That includes you, Wilde. Make sure you wear something dark. I want extra protection for the officers guarding the door. Rhinowitz, McHorn, you two will be making sure no one suspicious gets too close. We're trying to reveal Prey's criminal involvement, but we are not putting any civilians at risk. Hopps, you're the one who arrested Doug, so you'll need to be up there on the stage. Any questions?"

With silence as his answer, Bogo went about the briefing as usual, assigning the usual officers their own districts. After the briefing, all of the officers were unnervingly quiet. Judy and Stacy went to their office with Nick so the two officers could catch up on some paperwork while talking about what had just happened.

Tomorrow would be a turning point in whatever Prey had started. Whether or not they tried something at the press conference, it would be up to Zootopia to decide who they wanted to trust. Judy felt the pressure of that. After what happened at the last press conference, the last thing she wanted to do was say something she would regret. And not just about Nick. The last time she made a mistake at a press conference, all of Zootopia had been thrown into a panic.

Judy would talk to Nick tonight. Maybe he could teach her how to think carefully about what she said before actually saying it. Reporters would grill her with a variety of questions, and that wasn't very ideal, given her history with getting overwhelmed by them. She looked over from her computer to Stacy, watching her finish up some work, then at Nick, who was playing on his phone and glancing out the window now and again. She wanted him to know how proud she was of him. He'd actually opened up to the entire briefing room of police officers. It was a big step for him.

Nick really was tired of running.

He was finally opening up.

Judy just hoped that all of this hassle would be worth it. It would be a shame to go through all of this only to fail to keep Nick's and the ZPD's secrets safe.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Judy lay in her bed, Nick asleep beside her, thinking about all of the tips he'd given her for the press conference tomorrow. Maybe it was lying in a bed that was so familiar to him, but it hadn't taken long for the fox to fall asleep right there, an arm over his eyes, his mouth wide open, light snores escaping him.

Judy was just as nervous about the press conference as she had been last time. She'd asked Nick if there were some way that he could be up there with her, but he refused the spotlight, as he usually did. Except he did have a good reason for it. The first fox officer of the ZPD, not seen by any of the inhabitants of Zootopia for a year, suddenly right beside Judy in a press conference regarding this group, Prey, and talking about an officer infected with the nighthowler serum. It didn't seem like a smart idea.

As much as Judy wanted Nick up there with her, she could see the risk in that. Zootopia still had trouble trusting foxes.

Nick would be there, though. That was comforting. He'd be a normal citizen attending the conference.

Judy stared into the darkness of her room, up where she knew the ceiling was. She really kind of hoped that Prey would try something. Not only would it provide the ZPD with an opportunity and another reason to arrest them, but it would also show Zootopia that they couldn't be trusted.

It wouldn't happen, though. And while Bogo had to be careful, even he had to be aware that Prey wouldn't be so stupid as to ruin whatever reputation they were trying to achieve. Then again, this group wasn't very well known. For all Judy knew, they would just decided a reputation wasn't their goal and attack the ZPD.

Judy tried to kick those thoughts out of her head. She could worry about that tomorrow. As of right now, sleep was a priority. She would need to be aware and alert tomorrow. So, she made herself a little more comfortable, getting a little closer to Nick for extra warmth, and let the drowsiness take her away to the next day.

~ **Prey~**

Nick looked around at the officers walking around the ZPD, prepping and getting ready for whatever jobs Bogo had assigned them. A very familiar looking setup faced him. It was as if he'd travelled back in time to the same conference from a over a year ago. Not surprising.

The fox had his hidden camera recording already beneath his black button up and matching jeans. Every officer would have one on today in case Prey tried something. Nick didn't question the extra measure of caution, but there would be more than a few reporters with their cameras ready to spot anything that happened. Still, with more cameras ready to record things that perhaps the reporters missed, it would make for a lot of angles. More angles meant more opportunity to spot certain clues.

Nick had seen Bogo cautious, but not like now. Now he wasn't just protecting Zootopia. He was protecting his secrets, something that Nick would have never thought of happening to someone like Bogo.

Nick shoved away the wave of guilt that tried to crawl up his spine. He couldn't let himself feel guilty now. There'd be plenty of time for that later, once Prey was dealt with. He saw Judy walk out of her office.

It wasn't until he realized Judy was walking towards him that Nick pushed off of Clawhauser's desk where he'd been leaning. The cheetah was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," Judy said, looking at the reporters that were starting to come in. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm nervous."

"Look, at most, these reporters are just going to ask you about Doug. Either that, or they'll try to confuse you into saying something you don't mean."

"Not making me feel better here, Nick."

"Look, don't feel like you have to answer every single question seconds within it being asked. You can take your time to make sure you even want to answer it first. Just pretend that they're all pawpsicle hustling foxes, and you just found out that you can book them for felony tax evasion."

Judy huffed in a way that sounded like a laugh, "I suppose that'll work."

More and more reporters came in until it was time for Bogo to come up and say what it was he needed to say. Judy zoned out whatever it was, feeling how dry her throat was suddenly.

Once Bogo finished, he looked at Judy, signaling her to come up. Nick gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder and whispered a good luck.

Judy went up to the podium, stepping up on the stool placed there for her to reach the microphones. She looked out at all of the reporters, wiping her paws on her uniform pants. Out of the sea of attention-seeking reporters, Judy picked out a random one from the crowd.

"Can you tell us more about why you arrested this Doug character that Prey mentioned?"

"Yes, Doug was actually a chemist and a sniper for Bellwether. He took the nighthowler plant and made it into the serum that infected the predators that came in contact with it. He somehow managed to escape arrest last year, but we managed to catch a lead on him and finally arrest him."

"Why did the ZPD take so long to find a lead on Doug?" asked a zebra somewhere in the rightmost part of the crowd.

"We assumed he'd escaped Zootopia somehow. He basically just disappeared."

"And the ZPD never mentioned that this criminal had escaped arrest?"

"There was a miscommunication somewhere along the way."

"So you're saying that the ZPD is not as organized as we should believe it to be. Are we to believe that this may be the reason Prey is against the ZPD?"

Judy took a moment to try and understand why this reporter had so easily just accused the ZPD of being unorganized, followed by a comment made about Prey.

"With the cure to the nighthowler serum being such a high priority at the time, the ZPD was a bit preoccupied with that. And besides, with Doug's impressive ability to disappear and hide himself, the lack of clues was unsurprising. It was an unfortunate mistake that the ZPD has corrected and will be sure to prevent in the future with other criminals. As for the reason why Prey is after us, we are currently unsure, but their affiliation with a known criminal is surely not helping their case at all. Next question."

"Are you issuing some kind of challenge against Prey? Are you planning on arresting this group?" asked another reporter.

"Well, we're taking precautions should Prey try and do something dangerous. We are not issuing a challenge, as you worded it, but making sure this group does not do anything to hurt the citizens of Zootopia. That's what we do at the ZPD. Serve and protect."

"It seems that Prey thinks otherwise about the ZPD's agenda to 'serve and protect.' What are your thoughts on that? And what do they mean when they mention an officer of the ZPD being infected with a new strain of this nighthowler serum?"

"This group only just revealed themselves recently, so there is much about them the ZPD is still trying to learn. However, we can assume that they're attempting to make Zootopia stop trusting us. Why? We don't know. And as for this accusation about one of our officer's being infected with the nighthowler serum, this is just a scare tactic to get Zootopia to stop trusting the ZPD." Judy was starting to feel a little overwhelmed, but once she felt the hands of her chief on her shoulders, and his gruff voice telling everyone that there were no more questions, Judy felt relief sweep over her.

Bogo finished up while Judy went over to Nick, hoping she hadn't said too much.

Nick had a thumbs up waiting for her, "Not bad, Carrots." He casually put his arm around her shoulder. "In fact, I'd go as far as to say you did good."

"That was pretty crazy. It's hard to believe that Zootopia's so willing to believe a group like Prey."

"Well, I doubt that will be a part of our worries for very long. Zootopia trusts you, Carrots. The last thing they're going to do is throw you under the bus for an anonymous group that's made one broadcast."

"I just can't wait until all of this is over," Judy said. "I missed the action and all, but this is a bit overwhelming."

Nick had his con face on, so Judy knew he was trying to hide something. Maybe he felt the same way about this whole mess.

"Yeah, but hey, Prey didn't try anything, and Zootopia now knows that they worked with a criminal."

"I still don't get why they worked with Doug in the first place. Wouldn't they have known we'd figure it out?"

"You said it yourself. Doug's good at hiding. I'm gonna be honest here, Fluff. Luck was a pretty heavy factor in us finding him. Not to mention he wanted us to."

"Yeah, I guess." Judy realized what Nick was doing as they walked back to her office. He was leading her around the back of Clawhauser's desk where the reporters wouldn't notice her and stampede her with hundreds more questions.

Nick led her inside the office and shut the door, dusting off his hands with a goofy smile on his face.

"Well," Nick said, sitting in Stacy's chair and leaning back casually. "That was fun. What now?"

"You sure know how to make yourself comfortable, don't you, dumb fox?"

"Well, this was my chair once, you know. Speaking of this chair, though, where's the current owner?"

"I don't know where Stacy is. Maybe Bogo assigned her somewhere else. But if that's the case, then she'll be back soon. And she'll want her chair."

"Which I will graciously give to her." Nick rested the back of his head on his hands.

"So, what now?" Judy looked at the fox. "We had the press conference and everything, but…" She trailed off. Nick opened one eye to see if she was about to say something else.

"Now? We wait, I guess. Prey isn't going to just do nothing. Most likely, they're going to make another broadcast tonight with more empty promises. Or they'll try and disprove everything you said. You may not agree, but I'm kind of looking forward to it."

Judy gave him an incredulous look. "Care to explain why?"

"I just want to see what they try to come up with." Nick's tail was casually swaying. "Maybe they'll slip up or something."

"Ah, there's that overconfidence that I know so well from you." Judy did know that overconfidence well. And when he started acting like that, it usually meant that he was nervous, or maybe even a little scared. She didn't bother trying to point it out. Nick was probably just trying to reassure her. She was pretty nervous, herself. The ZPD probably wouldn't be ruined if everyone found out about Nick, but... but it would be hard to gain everyone's trust back. Judy didn't want to have to deal with that.

"I rather think I'm just confident enough. And besides, I figured you would have trouble getting over your worry, so I conjured up a little surprise for you."

"What?"

"Yeah. I called a few friends, set some stuff up. I just figured it was time I get your mind off of this whole thing for a little bit. I know you'll worry yourself to death if you don't." Judy watched as Nick leaned forward, his hands together like he was praying. "So, whaddya say? Wanna take a moment to forget about Prey? Think of it as our first real activity since I got back to Zootopia. Sure, we've watched movies and stuff, but we haven't done anything besides that."

Judy watched as a hopeful gleam shined in Nick's eyes. He knew she wouldn't say no, and Judy knew she wanted to take a little moment of rest from this. It could be good for her, after all. But what was the fox planning? He only got that look on his face when he was really putting the pieces of something into place.

"Alright, slick," Judy said finally, earning a winning smile from Nick. "You'd better have a pretty good surprise, because I'm expecting nothing but the best from you."

"Wouldn't want you to expect anything else."


	16. Chapter 16

Judy's phone pinged from its place on her bathroom counter where she was checking to make sure her clothes matched alright. She was wearing a simple purple T-shirt with white jeans. She checked the message, seeing that it was from Nick.

 _Those ears better not be droopy when I see you,_ _Copper_ _._

Judy snickered at the text and looked back in the mirror, seeing that her ears were perfectly perky tonight. Why was it that her ears gave away her worry so well?

 _Don_ _'t worry,_ _Slick_ _, my ears aren't droopy. They will be if you disappoint me with this surprise._ Judy sent the text and put her phone in her pocket, walking to her living room and sitting on the couch. She turned the T.V on and waited for the text to tell her that Nick was here, also waiting for another broadcast to show up. She knew she could always check her phone and find it if she somehow missed it, but still, she at least had something to do while she waited for Nick.

When Judy heard a knock on the door, she turned the T.V off and looked out the peephole to see Nick standing there.

"Well, well, well," Judy said. "What happened to texting me?"

"What?" Nick said, playfully tugging at the string on his gray hoodie. "Is there something wrong with announcing my presence face to face?"

Judy shoved him lightly and walked out of her room, letting the fox lead her outside to the awaiting van.

"Wait a minute. Is that... Finnick's van?"

"Unless you know of another borderline suspicious van driven by a tiny fox."

Judy looked up at Nick, seeing that scheming smile. She still didn't know what this fox was planning. Nick opened the back doors for Judy to hop in, hopping in himself and closing the doors.

"Alright, Finnick," Nick said. "Let's get going."

"Yeah, yeah," Finnick said, starting on his way to wherever Nick was planning on taking them.

"I'm pretty sure you can tell me now," Judy said. "You don't need to keep it hidden."

"Since when have I ever hidden things from you?" Nick had a smug smile as he reached into a cooler and handed Judy a soda, taking one out for himself.

Judy casually sipped on the carbonated beverage as she sneaked glances out the windshield, unable to determine where they were going.

"No peeking, Carrots," Nick playfully warned, not even looking Judy's way, making the bunny question if the fox had grown eyes in the back of his head in the year he was gone. "Not that it'll ruin the surprise if you do, but let's just focus on being in here for now."

Judy watched the fox as he fiddled with something in the seat next to Finnick, the sound of rustling bags making her ears perk up even more. Nick finally revealed what he'd been messing with, a bag of containers in hand as he brought them in between himself and Judy.

"Not exactly elegant," Nick said, "but this won't be a very short trip, so it's best that we go ahead and eat something."

Judy saw the logo on the bag and knew that Nick had gotten takeout from her favorite restaurant.

"Urb Veggie!" Judy exclaimed, excitedly opening her container to reveal a delicious looking veggie rice, the smell wafting up to her nose. Nick seemed satisfied with the bunny's reaction and took out his veggie sandwich. "My favorite."

"Mine too," Nick said simply, already taking a bite out of his food. "One of my favorites, at least."

Judy didn't respond, for she had her own rice-filled mouth to maintain. Finnick just snorted from the front at the two. He wasn't much for those healthy places. Get him a fish taco from a street vendor, and he was happy.

They drove throughout the afternoon, Nick sipping on soda with his bunny friend and carefully avoiding any topics related to his surprise. He had to pull a pretty big string to get this planned. He had to pull out some of his best begging for this. Good thing he could still think on his feet.

"We're not going to be too late, are we? I have work tomorrow."

Nick stopped, looking at Judy with an eyebrow raised. Judy noticed how he often did that. Even whenever he took a selfie, that eyebrow would be raised to complement that casual smile.

"Carrots... tomorrow's Saturday."

"I know."

"How many days did you work this week?"

Judy was quiet for a second. "Five."

"In eight hour periods?"

"Yeah."

"Then tomorrow's your day off. So is Sunday."

"But what if Prey makes another broadcast?"

"Okay, how about this," Nick said, seeing that Judy's ears were getting droopy. "You take the day off tomorrow. Sleep in, and if you think that Prey is doing something suspicious, you can go to the precinct and help however you want. That is, if Bogo even lets you. You've worked hard, Carrots. Harder than you seem to want to admit."

"This week started off slow."

"And then we reunited, arrested Doug, dealt with Stacy's hesitation in accepting me, and are currently dealing with Prey. Come on, Carrots, let's change the subject. I brought you here to forget about work, not talk about it. Just sit back, relax, let the food settle, and sip on your pretty little pink soda there. We'll be at the surprise soon enough, and when we get there, I'm pretty certain you'll forget all about work."

"And until we get there?"

"Isn't the journey supposed to be better than the destination or some wise old saying like that? If you don't forget about this, I'll make you." Nick grew a very horribly mischievous smile. Judy laughed somewhat uncomfortably, knowing he probably had some sort of wicked back up plan to put action to those words.

"And what exactly would you do to accomplish that?" Judy asked, her own smug grin growing, the curiosity biting at her like a piranha.

"Do you really want to know?" Nick looked absolutely gleeful. "Do you _really_ want to know?"

"Less and less the closer you get to me with that creepy smile on your dumb face."

"Well then. Let's talk about something else on the way to this special surprise."

"Let's."

~ **Prey~**

Judy and Nick were both laughing wildly at a video on Nick's phone of a lion reacting to a recently viral video of a pig who sneezed and somehow caused some sort of chain reaction where everyone else in the room sneezed after her.

"There is–" Judy stopped from a wave of fresh laughter interrupting her, "no way that is real."

"I don't care, it's still funny," Nick managed to breath out before laughing even more. Even Finnick, who was setting the van in park, looked like he was trying not to join in the laughter.

"Alright," said the fennec fox. "We're here."

"That's our stop, Carrots."

"I'll be back in an hour. I haven't eaten in awhile. I'll try not to abandon ya."

"I'm sure it'd be hard not to come for your special reward."

"I wasn't being serious. But that reward better be good."

Nick waved like a proud father as soon as he and Judy hopped out the back, Finnick driving off to the nearest place that served a hot meal.

"What'd you get him?" Judy asked.

"A new baseball bat. Vintage one at that, signed by the legendary Terrance Beverly himself."

"How is it that you always know how to get the coolest things?" Judy looked around at where they were, the darkness of night starting to set in. The stars in the sky beautifully illuminated the background of space. The shadows of the buildings around them had already found their hiding place in the darkness, and the moon seemed to provide little assistance to the hiding mimics of everyday architecture. They were in the Sahara District, the very generous heat proved that to Judy. Still, where exactly were they?

"You know what I'm about to say."

"As unpredictable as you are, there are still some things that never change about you."

"I know everybody," the duo said at the same time.

"So, I've managed to figure out that we're in Sahara Square. Question is, where do we go now?"

Nick let out a pleased chuckle, "Turn around."

Judy looked behind her to see something that'd kept her curious since the first moment she saw it on the train ride to Zootopia.

"The Palm Hotel," Nick said. "Casino and place of residence all in one."

"That's your genius plan to get me to forget about–" Judy saw the playful smirk on Nick's face, remembering he had a rule now against talking about Prey. "You seriously think that gambling is going to take my mind off things? Granted, it might, and with my salary I might go broke, but come on. I imagined a much grander surprise."

Nick actually thought she was serious until he saw the smile on her face. Gambling was not what he had in mind at all, actually. In fact, they wouldn't be going to the gambling area in the first place, mostly because Nick was banned there for winning too much money.

"Come on," said the fox. "There's plenty left to show you." They walked in, Judy revering the sight and colors of The Palm Hotel itself. She could only imagine how many floors there were. People all around her were talking and laughing rather quietly, while frustrated shouts and triumphant yells mixed in at the section in the middle of the lobby that was guarded by a mean looking rhino and a velvet rope.

"I've never actually gambled before."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Fluff, but tonight is not gambling night."

"Oh," Judy said, genuinely feeling a bit disappointed. It was probably for the best anyway. Her great-grandfather had been quite the gambler, and that hadn't ended well at all for the passed bunny.

"Aw, don't worry, Baby Carrots," Nick said, earning a sharp elbow in his side. "You're not missing much. It's way too easy to win, and you don't exactly become friends with the manager by doing so."

"So how did you manage to get us rooms here?"

"That part's a bit more complicated."

Judy had Nick's hand in a firm grip, letting the fox guide her through the occasional crowd. Judy noticed a lot more desert type mammals. A lot of camels had a place here, as well as a significant increase in cheetahs and leopards. Judy even saw some hyenas laughing about as wildly as she had during that viral video.

Nick walked right past the desk and the lioness behind it. She didn't seem concerned whatsoever in the fact that a fox and bunny just slipped past.

"Did she know you were coming?"

"Who, Cindy? Yeah, I told her that we were already on the list and she went ahead and verified it. I figured it would be best if we went ahead and skipped all of that."

"I swear, Nick. One day I'm going to find someone you don't know just to see you squirm."

"Yikes, that sounds serious." Judy and Nick passed by a few small stores, gift shops, arcades, candy stores, and even a restaurant or two. This whole place truly was a grand experience. Judy felt like a million bucks strutting with her fox friend to wherever he was leading her.

"Why didn't we just eat at one of these restaurants?"

"As much as I hate to inform you, the cuisine here is a bit more exotic. Not exactly delicious for you or I. Think of really rich people food. Thumb sized portions for a month's worth of rent. I may not be a cheapskate, but I'm not as rich as some of these mammals here."

"And yet you booked us a room here?"

"Oh, my impatient little bunny. This is so much more than a simple room. You'll see."

Judy was quiet as they entered a nearby elevator and Nick clicked on the topmost floor of the very tall hotel. She made sure to check she was breathing because all of these sights were absolutely stunning. And apparently, Nick hadn't even gotten to the surprise yet. She wasn't sure her little bunny heart could take much more. The elevator rose, and with it, Nick's smile. That smile both made Judy fear what was behind these elevator doors, and melt at the sincerity of it.

It wasn't a fake smile or a con smile. This was genuine excitement. He was ready to show her this surprise, whatever it was. Still, he kept as calm and collected as if he'd lived through this entire day three times already. The doors opened, and Nick took Judy's hand again, leading her out of the elevator. There was only one room on the whole floor, and the corridor leading to this room was short and wide. The room itself was hidden behind abnormally large doors. The words "Presidential Suite" were marked on a silver plaque to accentuate the significance of this room. The warm and inviting orange lighting of the corridor made the marble walls and floor and ceiling glow in a way that called to Judy, made her want to curl up with a hot cup of hot chocolate and a warm fire.

And a fluffy fox tail, Judy thought without trying.

Nick stood in front of the doors, looking at Judy with the brightest gleam in his eye that she'd seen in awhile.

"You ready for this, Judy?" Nick asked, his genuine smile remaining.

Judy. She couldn't believe he just called her that. This had to be a dream, this was definitely a dream. It had to be.

"Yes," she said, taking a deep breath. "Show me the surprise."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Nick put his paws on the handles of the two doors, gave Judy an enigmatic look, then pushed them open. Judy blinked at what she saw. Now she knew this was a dream. There was no way something like this would happen in real life.

There she stood. Gazelle herself, smiling, talking to one of her backup tigers. Judy didn't know where the other dancers were. Gazelle was wearing an elegant blue dress that gracefully swayed with each movement of her body. The dress itself was sleeveless, but she had black arm sleeves that went up to her elbows.

The tiger was wearing a tux, a small smile on his face as Gazelle told him to take his place at the piano.

Nick took Judy's hand and led her deeper inside the room. The room was cast in a yellow hue from the hundreds of lights on the large crystal chandelier above them. Everything appeared to be marble, and the pristine air of the place made Judy feel like she herself was a celebrity. She held her breath when she saw Gazelle walking towards her.

"Officer Hopps," Gazelle said, widening her arms for a hug. Judy hugged the singer, her mouth agape. "I'm so glad I got the chance to meet you in person. I never got to personally thank you for what you did for Zootopia. Also, you did protect me and my friends when we were protesting for predator's rights."

"I…" Judy looked at Nick, as if expecting the fox to give her words to say. "Your welcome. How is this happening right now?"

Gazelle laughed lightly, "Your friend here, he knows my sound guy, Eric. Said I had the opportunity to meet the great Judy Hopps. I admit, I didn't see why I couldn't just arrange a meeting with you anyway, but when I actually got the chance to talk to Nick here, he mentioned how stressed you were about this whole situation with Prey. So, I figured instead of just a meet and greet, I would let you be the first one to listen to a song I wrote quite recently."

"You mean… really?" Judy couldn't believe she was hearing this.

"Of course. I just want you to know, Officer, that I don't believe in what this Prey is doing. They are bringing down what me and a lot of other mammals have tried to do for Zootopia. But let's not talk about that. From what your friend told me, tonight is all about forgetting that."

Gazelle went to the piano and sat down on it, nodding to her tiger friend to start playing. Judy almost laughed, the magic of it all overwhelming her. The last thing she'd expected to be behind that door was Gazelle, prepared to sing a song for her.

And Nick. Judy looked at him, at the smile he had on his face. He was obviously satisfied with the results of his little surprise. The tiger started playing, the notes from the piano creating a beautiful melody, rising and rising, only to fall back into a deeper tone. It went somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, keeping its rhythm steady and delightful, like a ballroom.

 _You walk_ _the path of the light_

 _The path of the right_

 _But the path was too bright for me._

 _Blinded me,_ _I couldn't see_

Judy had never heard a song like this from Gazelle. It was slower, more poetic. Still, she was loving it. The tiger sped up ever so slightly on the piano, giving the song more momentum.

 _I lurked in the dark_

 _A black so stark_

 _That I couldn't see_

 _The good in me_

Judy was so captivated by this song. And she was the first to hear it! What would Zootopia think once they listened to this? It would be on the charts for sure.

 _The sight of you_

 _It shows me who_

 _I am_

 _Your violet eyes_

 _A beautiful hue_

 _Tonight_

Judy had been swaying to the song, but stopped upon hearing those last words. She felt Nick's presence next to her, and she looked to find his extended paw. He was offering to dance with her.

He never danced.

Judy took it and Nick led her to the middle of the room. She didn't question it, didn't want to. She just let Nick guide her into a slow dance. She felt her heart swell as she looked up at his warm smile, his piercing green eyes hypnotizing her.

 _I just want you to know_

 _That I lurk in the dark no more_

 _You saved me from myself_

 _You made me realize now_

 _That I can be whatever_

 _I want now and forever_

Judy blinked away a few tears that were trying to come out. She was so overwhelmed by all of this. Gazelle was singing to them as they danced in a luxury suite. Why would Nick do this? What happened to not meaning anything in that note he'd given her? No, no Judy didn't care. Not now. Not when this moment was so perfect. She closed her eyes and rested her head against Nick's chest, letting his heartbeat and Gazelle's voice guide her footsteps.

 _Thank you for all you've done_

 _Judy Hopps,_ _my sweetest love_

The tiger finished the song off slowly, chord after chord, his fingers creating a wonderland of satisfying music. As soon as the song finished, the last note lingering in the air, the two stopped their dance, and Judy backed away to get a better look at Nick. He just had that confident smile on.

Judy watched how his lips curled with his smile, suddenly fascinated by them, as if she were in a trance. But Nick looked away to thank Gazelle for the song. Judy was kicked out of her trance and also sent her thanks Gazelle's way, flabbergasted by what happened. She was high on the magic of the night.

Gazelle hugged Judy, gave a handshake to Nick, wished them both well, then left with her tiger friend, going off to probably enjoy the gambling downstairs.

"So you rented this suite?" Judy asked once Gazelle was gone. "I thought this was her room and you just got her to allow us in."

"Aw, Carrots," Nick said, striking a goofy superhero pose. "Did you really think I wouldn't go all out?"

Judy looked out at the back of the room, a small staircase leading up to three body sized windows, the view of Zootopia beautifully lit and filled with spirit. "You wrote that song, didn't you? You didn't just tell Gazelle to write a song for me."

"Was it that obvious? I'm not exactly a songwriter, but hey, I tried."

"When—how did you get the time to arrange all of this? It seems unreal."

"Told you I'd get your mind off of things. And that's not all. Follow me."

Nick extended his hand once again, and Judy took it, letting her friend guide her through the suite. Judy glanced into each room that had a door open as they walked by. There were more than a couple of bathrooms, a laundry room, a library, and a gaming room, complete with drink and vending machines (Nick claimed they would visit that later).

Nick looked back at her, watching her marvel at the beauty of it all, then stopped at the door at the end of the hall.

"Doin' alright, Carrots?" Nick asked, smirking at the sight of her ears turning to hear his voice more precisely. "With all these surprises, I'm surprised you haven't asked to take a break."

"Maybe I'm just too surprised to say it."

"Touché." Nick smiled and let go of Judy's hand long enough to open the doors. Judy's ears fell to the back of her head, then raised again, slowly, unsurely.

It was a bedroom. A lovely bedroom with a large T.V, a mini fridge under the desk in the corner, and a dresser made of a fine birch to the right next to what Judy guessed was a closet.

"Um, Nick?" Judy said, wondering what the fox thought he was doing.

Nick looked back at her, saw the look on her face, then burst into laughter, leaning over with his paw on his stomach.

"Okay, laugh it up," Judy said, chuckling a little to herself, if only to defuse some of the embarrassment she was feeling.

"Sorry, Carrots," Nick said, gaining control of himself. "Don't mean to disappoint you, but we're just passing through this room to get to the specially made balcony for the suite." Judy stepped further in to see a similar setup to the one in the middle of the living room of the suite. Three body shaped mirrors leading to a balcony with a gorgeous view of outside. Except the balcony was made of one of the many "leaves" that completed the illusion that this hotel was one big tree. Judy saw a small table with a small pink box in the middle, and two very beautifully crafted wooden rocking chairs to relax in.

Nick opened the glass door outside, the warm air seeping in.

"Well, what're you waiting for?"

Nick stepped out and sat down in the chair to the right, looking out at the view. Judy joined him, eyeing the mysterious pink box, wondering what of all things could be in there.

"You hot?" Nick asked.

"Um, not right now, but I might be soon."

Nick simply got up and went to a control panel on the wall, fiddling with it for a second. Judy heard something start, then felt air on the back of her head. She looked back to see several air conditioners above the glass. She took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the cool air before turning back around in her seat and once again glancing at the pink box.

A minute or so passed by, and Judy couldn't resist it anymore.

"Okay, it's killing me. What's in the box?"

Nick looked back at the air conditioners, pondered something for a minute, then smiled at his bunny friend, "Yeah. I supposed the air has cooled it down enough. It wasn't out here for very long, but I wanted to make sure it was fine before opening it. Go ahead."

Judy excitedly opened the pink box, the thin cardboard going back to reveal the variety of different cupcakes and muffins before her.

"Wow," she breathed, picking up a carrot cake cupcake. "Nick, I swear, when you do stuff like this, it can be too much."

"Well, I can take away the treats if you–"

"I wasn't complaining," Judy said, pulling the box closer to her in case Nick meant what he said. Nick chuckled at her and grabbed a blueberry muffin, eyeing the chocolate cupcake as he took the muffin out of the box.

The duo gladly ate the treats and looked out at the whole of Zootopia. Judy felt satisfied with the one cupcake she ate, and Nick didn't bother reaching for another one, too relaxed to bother eating anything else. All of the tension, all of the stress, was gone. The silence around them, save for the quiet hum of the air conditioners, sent the two friends into a state of pure bliss. Judy felt her eyelids get heavy, felt her breathing slow a bit. She would just take a small nap. She could use the rest.

Judy was about to fall completely asleep.

Then she heard the boom.

It didn't sound loud from where she was, but she could tell that it wasn't some malfunction in the air conditioners or fireworks celebrating who knows what.

Nick's phone buzzed in his pocket, and the fox answered the call on speaker.

Neither got the chance to say anything before Bogo's voice bellowed from the phone speaker: "Hopps. Wilde. There's been an explosion. Get here now!"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

They were racing outside the palm hotel, spotting Finnick's van a few feet away. Nick knocked on the window to get the fennec fox to unlock the back doors. Nick and Judy jumped in, Nick telling Finnick to drive back to Savannah Central as fast as possible.

"Nicky, you know this heap ain't a race car, right?"

"Drive," Nick pressed. Finnick shook his head and pressed hard on the elevated pedal, the van speeding away towards Savannah Central.

"You went gambling again, didn't you, Nick?" Finnick said, looking in the rearview mirror. Judy wasn't sure how he could talk so calmly at the speed they were going.

"No... it's sort of a work thing. Did you hear that boom?"

"Something of the sort."

"There was an explosion. It could be Prey."

"Man, you'd better not get me dragged in this cop business. I'll drop you off, but I'm outta there after that."

Nick didn't respond, instead looking to Judy. "Seems we just can't get a break, huh, Carrots?"

"I wonder if anyone's hurt," Judy said, her arms crossed, her eyes determinedly pointed to the ground. Nick's face fell after that. This was supposed to be the perfect night. A night where he could see that smile of hers. He'd gone to such lengths to make up for everything, and now a group had ruined that by potentially hurting a lot of innocent people.

Nick crossed his own arms, refusing to feel sorry for himself. Not now, not when there would be a lot of people in need of help. He wasn't just going to sit back and let it happen. He didn't have his badge anymore, but he would be ZPD tonight, whether or not anyone liked it.

~PREY~

Finnick saw the glowing orange hue once he got to Savannah Central. The sun had been down for a little while now, so whatever was causing the color was not natural. Silence fell heavy on the van as Finnick drove around the corner.

"That's–" Nick started.

"City Hall," Judy whispered, thinking of many lives may have been lost already. Firetrucks, police cars, and ambulances filled the street in front of the building. The fire they had seen was coming from the topmost portion of City Hall. The rest of the exterior of the building appeared fine. Finnick stopped the van and Nick and Judy got out. Finnick drove off as the two walked under the police tape and to Chief Bogo, spotted giving orders from his police car.

"What happened?" Judy asked.

"Explosion in Mayor Lionheart's office."

"How is he?"

"Badly injured, but okay, for the most part. He's already on his way to the emergency room. Other than that, there aren't many others that are injured."

"Do you think that Prey did this?"

"I'm pretty sure, but I have no proof to back up that opinion. When Mayor Lionheart wakes up, we'll have to question him about what he saw."

"This is getting way too out of hand."

"Lucky for us, only Mayor Lionheart's office and a few others' were damaged. City Hall's structural integrity is fine. No collapsing buildings today, thankfully. Once the fires are out and the firefighters have deemed the area safe to walk through, we'll go in and investigate what we can."

Nick looked around, past all of the lights and emergency vehicles, to see if he could spot any suspicious figures or even a piece of evidence. Anything he could spot amidst the darkness would be useful. Sadly, there was nothing that he could find, no hooded figure escaping into an alley, no suspicious satchels or bags around.

Nick checked his phone to see if Prey had released any more messages.

They had.

"Carrots," Nick said, realizing that he may as well let Judy see the video now. "Look. Prey made another message. Someone recorded it." He took out a pair of earbuds and gave Judy one, keeping the the other for himself.

"Citizens of Zootopia," said the same distorted voice Nick remembered. "In response to the ZPD's press conference that took place just yesterday, we were ignorant to Doug's criminal past. Since the ZPD had not released any form of warning about this criminal, a group like us that is dedicated to helping Zootopia was bound to find him and put his abilities to use. As for the identity of the officer infected with the nighthowler serum, we're still looking into it. The ZPD is much better at keeping things under wraps than we expected. Doug, for example. Prey has considered everything the ZPD said at their press conference and are wondering why our esteemed mayor has not come out with any statements. Is he hiding something? Is he letting the ZPD fend for themselves? This, we will have to look into later, good citizens. Our current priority is your safety." The video shut off, and Nick slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Seems a bit weird that they mentioned Mayor Lionheart, and now he's in the hospital."

"Maybe this wasn't Prey after all," Judy said to herself. She looked up at Nick's confused features. "Think about it. They're obviously very determined to seem good in Zootopia's eyes. They proved it by leaving our press conference alone, then by arguing against our statements so cleverly. They wouldn't just throw it all away like that."

"But if they're so good at arguing things, they could easily try and pin it on someone else. God, they might even try to pin it on us somehow."

"Well," Judy saw Bogo wave them over. "Let's just hope that whoever did this slipped up and left a clue."

~PREY~

Judy remembered the last time she'd been in City Hall. She'd quit her job as an officer and went to carrot farming. So much had changed since then. More than she'd thought.

"Where's Stacy, Chief?" Nick asked, his voice light and uncaring, as if the whole situation wasn't affecting him at all. It was, Judy knew that. She'd seen the look on his face, that slight tremor in his voice as he spoke. But man, was he good at hiding it.

"She and a few other officers are staying at the ZPD in case Prey did this as a distraction. The last thing we need right now is them getting into the ZPD while we're gone. I can only imagine the incriminating information they could find, not to mention the weapons and armor."

"They won't stop here, you know," Nick said. "We've already established their need to go after me and the ZPD, but what then? They'd find some other poor slobs to blackmail or threaten. Groups like these are like fire. They leech off of what they need until it's completely drained, leaving nothing but ash. Afterwards, they find something else to burn."

Judy stepped over the broken down door to Lionheart's office, the glass windows leading outside shattered, the floor and walls blackened by the fire, the desk burned to rubble. Judy took her phone out and turned the light on, shining it on every square inch of the room. Nick didn't need it, his night vision providing enough light. Bogo just had a regular flashlight, shining in every area Judy didn't.

Nick walked to what remained of Lionheart's desk, carefully checking to make sure it wouldn't burn him if he touched it. He moved aside a burned piece of wood, then another, thoroughly looking for any sort of evidence. He found a very burned up taser, most likely Lionheart's, but told Bogo about it anyway, whom put it in a plastic bag.

Judy kept searching the overall area while Nick continued rummaging through what the desk used to be.

"How did Lionheart survive the explosion," Judy said, "when everything else is so destroyed? He had to have known about the explosion just before it went off. It would have given him enough time to get far enough out of the blast radius to survive."

"What are you saying, Hopps?" Bogo asked.

"I'm saying that we can rule out this explosion being some kind of accident. It had to be some kind of bomb. Question is, was it timed or did someone set it off?"

"Why would it be timed?" Nick asked. "Usually when bombs are timed they blink or tick or something. It seems kind of coincidental that Lionheart would discover a ticking bomb and get out just in time for it to blow. No, I think Lionheart found the bomb, and the bomber managed to set it off just in time to injure him."

"How would they have known Lionheart found it, though? Was someone in this office with him?"

"Doubt it. But whenever we question Lionheart, he can probably shed some light on who or what he saw. Until then, let's just pretend that nobody was in the office with him."

"The only way someone could have known Lionheart found it is…" Judy looked at the very corners of the ceiling. "The cameras. Someone had been watching Lionheart on the cameras."

"Well, who do we know that hacks into technology?" Nick said sarcastically. "Sounds like a certain group we all know and love."

"I still don't get why they would put their reputation in danger."

"Carrots, nobody in Zootopia really trusts Prey yet. And they're obviously fanatics. They knew Zootopia wasn't taking them seriously, so they decided to turn to desperate measures."

"Hmm, it still doesn't add up to me."

"Either way," Bogo said. "I think we're done here for now. We need to see if this taser has any significance. Tomorrow we'll check up on the mayor and see if he's willing to answer some questions. That is, if he's awake by then."

"Tonight wasn't supposed to go this way," Nick whispered to himself. He didn't think anyone had heard him, but the small twitch in Judy's ear made him regret saying anything.

"I saw your friend drive off," Bogo said, turning to walk out of the room. "Do either of you need a ride home?"

~PREY~

Judy tiredly walked into the apartment, Nick right behind her. Bogo hadn't questioned their temporary living together, much to both of their relief. Neither of them felt like explaining their relationship, especially after tonight. Nick was waiting for Judy to bring up what he'd whispered. He didn't want her to think he'd been planning anything... questionable. They were just good friends. Good friends that wrote songs and convinced celebrities to sing those songs. He'd written her as his greatest love. That had been too far, Nick decided. He should've not said anything. He still didn't even know for sure if he liked Judy like that. It was so on and off. One moment, he was going all out just to make her happy, the next, he was telling her that he felt nothing for her besides her being his friend. But that didn't make sense. No one simply stopped liking someone. Maybe it was all of the walls he'd built back up. His feelings for Judy were still there, but those emotional barriers turned him off from the idea of anything between them.

"I'm going to get a shower," Judy said, stretching. "You can get one after me if you want. And if you don't mind smelling like lady's body wash."

Nick lightly chuckled and turned the T.V. on.

Less than half an hour later, Judy got out of the shower, changed into some pajamas, then told Nick he could get his own shower. She told Nick to hand her his clothes so she could wash the ash off of them. Tired, confused, but also happy from the events before the explosion, Judy crawled into bed, thinking about the entire night. This night apparently hadn't gone how Nick planned. Judy hadn't planned for it to go that way either. All Nick had wanted was for her to relax. The lengths he'd gone too to achieve her relaxation were extraordinary.

No wonder Stacy kissed him, thought the bunny. She had a very sad thought then. She'd left the cupcakes at the suite. She really wouldn't have minded another carrot cake one. She sighed and rolled on her side, listening to the sound of running water as Nick took his own shower. He'd have to wear the same clothes, but at least they would be clean, especially after rummaging through stuff in Lionheart's office.

Judy had a thought. A silly, silly thought. One that would make both her and Nick happy.

~PREY~

Nick finished drying off and peeked out the door to ask Judy to bring him his clothes, only to find them folded on the floor in front of him. He put on his clothes, enjoying the warmth from them being in the dryer, then walked out of the bathroom, suddenly hearing music from the living room. It was very old jazz music, from what Nick could tell. It brought back a lot of good memories, hearing that. He'd missed that speaker, the way it carried music all throughout the apartment.

Nick stepped out into the living room, spotting Judy, standing there in her pajamas, smiling at him.

"I figured we could end the night on a good note. Since we did have to cut our already short vacation even shorter."

"You heard what I said, didn't you?"

"Yeah. It was sweet, Nick, all of the stuff you did for me today."

"Ah, what are friends for?" There was that word again. Friends.

"Well, I have to say my favorite part of tonight was dancing with the ever graceful Nick Wilde." Judy took a step back. "But why not make it a little less fancy, huh?" Judy turned the knob, going to a dance station.

Nick laughed, "Hyena Gomez? I never knew you were a fan of hers."

Judy hopped up to Nick, elbowing him, "Come on, Slick. Care to dance the bunny way?"

Nick laughed again, and the two goofily danced to many different pop songs, laughing the whole time, enjoying the next few minutes, the explosion, the fire, all of it melting away with each song.

Nick had gotten what he wanted, what he'd been aiming for all day. For his best friend in the whole world to smile, to be happy and forget about Prey for a while.

Because he absolutely loved that smile.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Nick awoke on the couch, warm, comfortable. He turned over, scanning his surroundings, then stretched, yawned, and got up, throwing the blanket off of him. He stretched again, popping his back and his knuckles. He hadn't had a nightmare in quite a few days, Nick noticed. Maybe it was being around Judy so much. He really didn't care how it happened. He was just glad he could get a full night's sleep for once.

Nick walked to the fridge and took out a bottled water, sipping on it to relieve his dry mouth of its dehydrated state. He looked around the apartment, wondering where Judy was. He looked at his phone, realizing it could use a good charge, and saw that it was eight in the morning. Judy must've already gone to work. But why hadn't she woken him up?

Putting his phone back into his pocket, Nick peeked into Judy's room, spotting the little bunny fast asleep on her bed. The fox shook his head, not believing what he was seeing. Judy Hopps, the Judy Hopps, fast asleep instead of up and about.

Oh yeah, it's her day off.

He chuckled at the sight and stood there for a second, just watching her. Admittedly, he felt kind of creepy, just standing there, leaning against the doorframe, watching his friend sleep. Still, the peaceful look on her face—it was perfect. She was perfect. Everything about her was unrivaled by any other mammal in all of Zootopia. Her sheer determination was enough to push through all odds, in every case she'd solved.

As if sensing his presence, Judy stirred, her eyes slowly opening.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Nick said, an amused smile on his face. "How does it feel to sleep in for once?"

"Wha'?" Judy said in her half-asleep state, looking at the time. "I didn't set my alarm?"

"Apparently not."

"I need to get to work."

"It's your day off, Carrots. How about I call Chief Bogo and see if Lionheart's awake. If he is, you can go to work. If not, you have to stay in and relax."

"I relaxed plenty last night, Nick. I need to work."

Nick sat down on the bed, staring down at her. "Do I need to have an intervention regarding your workaholism?"

Judy stared back at him, responding to his sly smile with a roll of her eyes.

"Fine," Judy said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Go call the chief."

Nick walked to the living room and used what little battery left on his phone left to call the chief.

"Wilde," Bogo said.

"Wow, that's the most pleasant way you've ever intimidatingly said my name. Your social skills are steadily improving, Buffalo Bill." Nick heard an annoyed sigh, and smiled despite himself. "Okay, bad time. Is Lionheart awake?"

"Not yet. Is Hopps there?"

"Yeah. She's here. It's her day off, though, so I think it's best that she stays here today." Nick didn't know why he felt a twinge of annoyance inside of him when he said that. He hadn't felt that annoyance since he'd fussed at Chief Bogo that night he demanded her badge.

"That's exactly why I asked. I know it's her day off, Wilde, and unless Lionheart wakes up or something severe happens, I want her at home. We can handle things here, especially with how quiet it is today. We're still scanning the taser to see if it really did belong to Lionheart."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that everything is quiet. Shouldn't the news be, like, crazy from what happened last night?"

"I meant it's quiet here at the precinct. As for the news... well, I've tried to avoid that for the most part. It's not like we can really say anything. All we have right now is speculation. Just keep your phone ready in case I need you or Hopps."

"Sounds good, Mr. B, I'll make sure Carrots gets her day off." Nick hung up and turned around to see Judy rifling through the fridge.

"You and the chief teaming up on me?" Judy said. "My day off must be really important to a lot of people."

"Or legally required. It is in your job description, after all."

"True," Judy said, taking her phone out. "But I'm ready for when Lionheart wakes up."

"Ah, since your phone is no longer charging, I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I plugged mine in for a little while?"

"Knock yourself out."

Judy went to the cabinet under her T.V. as Nick went to go keep his phone alive and tried to pick out a good movie from inside.

Nick returned and squatted next to his long-eared friend.

The two silently scanned the row of movies, a lot of which Nick had actually owned before handing over his apartment to Judy. Judy forgot sometimes that this was, in fact, Nick's old apartment. It was weird having him unofficially live here now. Weird, not bad.

"You've seen _Wreck-It-Rhino_ , right?" Nick asked.

"Once," Judy said. "I wouldn't mind watching it again."

"Done deal." Nick took the movie out and handed it to Judy as he went back to the kitchen and opened the fridge. A few seconds later, the fox released a small laugh and a statement of victory as he pulled out a tube of Pangolin Doughboy cinnamon rolls. "When did you get these, Carrots?"

"About a week ago, I think."

Nick made a disappointed ticking sound, shaking his head at the bunny as she put the movie in and turned the T.V. on. "Now Carrots, how could you keep such a treasure in your fridge for a week and not have eaten it already? For shame."

"Okay, Slick, you've made your point," Judy said. "Just because I don't have your sweet tooth doesn't mean I don't eat anything sweet."

"Never said you didn't." Nick got a pan out and started to get the rolls ready for baking.

Once the rolls were in the oven, Nick joined Judy in watching the movie, the two friends sitting on the couch with a blanket over them. They laughed throughout until the oven dinged and it was time to get the cinnamon rolls out.

Judy paused the movie long enough to go to the kitchen table and sit down, waiting patiently for a cinnamon roll to be presented to her.

"And…" Nick said, putting the frosting on top. "Done." He put a plate with a fresh roll on it and slid it over to Judy, getting one for himself.

"Mmm," Judy moaned as she took a nice, soft bite. "These are actually really good."

"Aren't they?" Nick said, swallowing his own bite, then taking another.

Judy continued eating a little more quietly, a question surfacing in her head. She'd asked before, but now... now it was different. Maybe she would get a different answer. Then maybe she could answer herself, figure out how she felt.

"Nick." He stopped for a second, looking up at her. "How do you feel things are... you know, between us?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Nick. The song you wrote for Gazelle to sing. Did you think I hadn't listened to any of those lyrics? And what about the lengths you went to for my day off? That's not exactly something you just do for a friend."

Nick stayed quiet, looking down at his half-eaten breakfast. "I know."

"So what does that mean? You told me you didn't mean anything by your note, then you pulled a stunt like that."

"I just don't know, Judy." He looked her straight in the eye. "I honestly just keep going back and forth. I've never actually been in a real relationship, not once. I never trusted anybody. Thanks to you, I've gotten better, but... I've never been such great friends with somebody as I have been with you. Some days I wonder if I like you more than that, and others I feel like we should just stay friends." Now it was Judy's turn to be quiet. "And since you're literally the best friend I've ever had, what if we get into a relationship and I realize that what I felt for you was just friendship? I don't want to risk that."

"Nick…" Judy tried to think of what to say. "I've actually questioned that, too. I think that... we should just ride it out. You know, just keep doing what we're doing. If we happen to get into a relationship, it'll just happen. Neither of us have been in real relationships, Nick, it's going to be scary."

Nick took another bite of his cinnamon roll. "Yeah. It's just really confusing. But I think it's best if we just stay friends. I mean, we may just be feeling pressured by our friendship to make it into something more. You know, just because we're really good friends doesn't mean we need to be more."

Judy finished the rest of her cinnamon roll, took the plate to the sink, washed her hands, and sat back down. "Agreed." Nick seemed relieved when she said that. Maybe it was best if they remained friends. It would stay simple that way. "Now, you emotional fox, you want to finish the movie?"

Nick popped the rest of the roll into his mouth. "Yeah, we haven't gotten to the best part yet."

~PREY~

The credits rolled as Nick and Judy smiled at the screen, satisfied with the ending of that movie.

"Even better the second time," Judy said. "What now?"

"Well, what do you usually do on your day off?" Nick asked. He developed a suspicious smile as Judy remained silent. "Judy?"

"I...usually go on a run, do some exercises–"

"Unacceptable." Nick shook his head. "We're doing something fun today, whether you like it or not."

"I have fun."

"Exercising is not fun."

"Well–"

"Watching crime movies and figuring out who the culprit is before the movie is even half over doesn't count either."

"Now who's not fun?"

"Still my little bunny." Nick rubbed the top of her head, her ears going in all directions. "Now, let's go do something that's actually fun."

"Yeah, and what would that be?"

"Well–" Judy's phone rang before Nick could properly say anything, and the bunny answered it promptly.

"Hello?" Nick could hear Chief Bogo's loud voice on the other side of the phone.

"Hopps," Bogo said. "Bring Wilde. The mayor's awake."

"On our way." Judy hung up her phone and opened her mouth to say something.

"Well," Nick said, interrupting whatever the bunny was going to say. "I guess we'll have to save the fun for after we question our dear mayor."

"Where will we be going, anyway? After we question Lionheart, that is."

Nick took on a smug face. "You know I'm not going to tell you that, Carrots. What's the point of taking you somewhere fun if it's not a surprise?"

Judy sighed, "You drive me nuts, you know that?"

"Like a squirrel with road rage. Now come on, let's go clear some things up with Mr. Mayor."


	20. Chapter 20

Judy entered the room slowly, spotting the heavily bandaged lion in his hospital bed, watching T.V. At the sight of the bunny officer herself, as well as the carefree looking fox, the mayor switched the T.V. off, smiling at the both of them.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite officers," Lionheart announced in his usual booming voice.

"Ex-officer," Nick reminded the burned lion. "However, I was quite the enforcer of the law." He straightened his tie and waited for an elbow to the ribs from Judy, only to receive no such blow. He was almost disappointed.

"Yes, well," Judy glanced at Nick with a smile, "we're here to ask you some questions, Mayor Lionheart."

"Just call me Leodore, for now," said the lion, holding his paw up in disregard of his own title. "Makes things easier."

"Okay," Judy said, taking out her notebook. Nick had his paws resting behind his back, looking around the hospital room for nothing in particular. Just absentmindedly looking at some things, making sure to keep his ears perked and ready to absorb every word of the conversation that was about to take place. "So, first off, how did you escape your office in time to narrowly miss being caught up in the explosion?"

"I had my paws resting in my lap. When I moved them a little to grab my coffee, they brushed against something. I looked under my desk, and the next thing I know, I'm running out of my office and away from the bomb."

"Did you see a timer on the bomb? Was there any blinking or beeping?"

"None, no."

"You have four cameras in your office, right? One in each corner?"

"That's correct, but if you think anyone was watching me through those cameras, then you're sadly mistaken. The security at City Hall is impenetrable. Guards at nearly every corner."

"True. But how much security goes into protecting your cameras' feeds, exactly?"

"I dunno. I never asked."

"Prey has managed to hack into every T.V. all over Zootopia without leaving a trace, and you don't think they could have hacked into your cameras?"

Leodore just sighed and rested his head against his pillow, as if the realization of his vulnerability was sinking in. Nick found himself both relating to and treasuring that sight. The lion who thought he was impenetrable wasn't so strongly guarded after all. Nick knew what that felt like ten times over.

"That means I'm not safe anywhere, not even this hospital." Lionheart grabbed Judy's paw with both of his own. "Please, Officer Hopps, please stop these maniacs before they find me. I won't be able to run this time." Lionheart's heart monitor started going crazy, and suddenly Judy and Nick were being pushed out of the room as Lionheart continued shouting wild encouragements her way. The nurse closed the door, probably to sedate the lion privately, leaving Judy and Nick in the hallway.

"Well," Nick said, brushing his clothes off, "that was certainly interesting. Did you get everything we need, Carrots?"

"Just confirmed my suspicions. We can safely assume that Prey tried to eliminate our mayor."

"Well, if that's not a crime, I don't know what is."

"Only problem is, we don't have any tangible proof that Prey is behind this."

"Ugh, why is the legal system so weird?" Nick groaned. "See, Carrots, this is why it was so easy for me to be a con artist. I could easily avoid the police because they had no proof on me whatsoever. Would have gotten away with that lifestyle, too, if it wasn't for you meddling bunnies." Nick reached for Judy and tickled her stomach, the bunny shoving Nick's paw away and looking around to make sure nobody witnessed the sight.

"Nick, we're in the middle of a hospital."

"Great, then I may receive all the medical attention needed once I continue to tickle you and get beaten up."

Judy laughed and shook her head, straightening her uniform, "Let's go, you dumb fox."

"Where are we going now, Fluff?"

"The precinct. I need to tell Bogo everything Lionheart said, then we need to figure out how we're going to book Prey."

"Sounds like a hoot and a half. Owl be happy to walk you there."

"Please don't start making puns. The jokes you spout now are bad enough."

"Hoo told you that?" Nick smiled and leaned over to get in her face. He wanted her to have a full view of how proud he was of his own joke.

"How about I turn your head in a one-eighty fashion, since you seem so determined to become an owl."

"Yikes, Carrots, you're getting violent in your veteran days."

"All jokes aside, how are we going to stop Prey? They know we can't do anything without proof, and they haven't technically broken the law by hacking into the thanks to loopholes. And they made up a decent excuse for working with Doug. If we could just find out where they are, maybe we could find some kind of evidence against them. There's no way a group like that hasn't done anything illegal."

"Couldn't we at least inform Zootopia of the connection? They broadcasted a message about Lionheart, and the next thing we know, his office gets blown up. And whoever did this hacked into the cameras, something that Prey seems to be notorious for now."

"I'll admit, it may help us find them, and it would warn Zootopia about how potentially dangerous they are. But we would cause chaos. We don't want to panic the people."

"We thought that same thing when hiding me from them, and that didn't work out too well."

"That's not the same, Nick. And besides, anything we want Zootopia to know will be made through a statement made by us. With all of the media surrounding this group, that won't be hard. But we can't risk another press conference, and it's not like we have the time to set up our own broadcast, not to mention Prey might intrude on it and show one of their own. No, right now we need to focus on finding them."

"And I'll be with you the whole way. And Stacy, if we ever get the chance to do anything with her. Isn't she your partner?"

"Supposed to be, but things have been hectic."

"What, am I your unofficial partner now?"

"Maybe."

"Aw, I'm flattered, Carrots." Nick put a paw to his chest with a prideful and toothy smile. "You should probably check up on your partner while we're at the ZPD. Maybe she can come with us to the activity I had planned for your day off."

"Come in," Judy heard through Bogo's office door. She walked in with Nick behind her, and Bogo looked up from the paperwork he was doing. "Hopps. Did you get anything out of the mayor?"

"He just confirmed what we already knew," Judy said. "We're sure that it was a bomb, and whoever was going to detonate it was watching Lionheart through the cameras."

"Any ideas on who managed to sneak into City Hall and plant the bomb in the first place?"

"No, he started freaking out and the nurse had to come in and sedate him."

"Shame. How'd he look?"

"Okay. Burned up, but good."

Bogo looked back down at his papers. No, through his papers. He was in thought, probably piecing this whole puzzle together inside of his head.

"On the bright side, we know that Prey did this," Nick interjected.

"With no proof," Bogo said. "I wonder if we can find a way to get a hold of the footage. For all we know, Prey's blocked out any video showing the bomber, but it would be worth a try."

"Do you have anything on the taser we found yet?" Judy asked.

"Not yet. Snowclaw's down there waiting for the analysis to finish. It's likely that the fingerprints were burned off, that is if this taser even belonged to the bomber in the first place. Did Lionheart mention anything about owning a taser?"

"No, sir. Sorry," Judy said, looking to Nick. "Let's go see Stacy down in forensics. We'll see you, Chief." Bogo merely nodded at the two as they exited the office and headed down to forensics to check on Stacy and the taser.

"Fingers crossed that the taser has fingerprints on it," Nick said, showing his own crossed fingers to reinforce what he said. Judy halfheartedly crossed her fingers back at him, Nick dinking his fingers against hers like they were making a toast at a banquet.

"You're quite the comedian, Wilde."

"Wilde? Oh no, you've been spending way too much time with Bogo. I swear, Carrots, if you sprout some horns, I'm running."

Judy laughed at the goofy fox as he cringed at the thought of two Bogos.

The duo entered forensics, spotting Stacy with her arms crossed in the corner of the room, watching the analyst, a porcupine, finish up what she was doing.

As soon as the white wolf saw Judy and Nick, she seemed to light up.

"Hey, guys," she said, pushing herself from the wall. "Haven't seen either of you in a while."

"Yeah," Judy said, watching the analyst work. "Things are just getting crazier and crazier, huh?"

"Speaking of which, how's Lionheart?"

"Paranoid," Nick answered. "It is a bit nerve racking when someone tries to assassinate you."

"Now's not really the time for jokes, Nick." Stacy didn't look scornful, just sad.

"Sorry. Someone's gotta keep the humor around here. Honestly, the ZPD is so depressing without me here. Well, I suppose you have Clawhauser, but he was too busy scarfing down a pizza to notice us walk in."

Judy stepped on Nick's foot lightly, and the fox realized that he should probably act a bit more serious at this point.

"Sorry," Nick added in after his second of silence.

"It's cool," Stacy said. "So back to my original question. Lionheart?"

"He's fine," Judy said. "Just a little burned up, that's all."

A sound came from a rather large machine in the center of the room, resembling a printer as the analyst opened a tray and took out the taser, her gloves preventing any fingerprints.

"No prints," she said simply. "However, if you look closely here." The three leaned in to see what the spiky mammal was talking about. She took the charge pack out of the back of it. There appeared to be some kind of symbol on the back of the pack, one that Judy didn't recall being on her own taser.

"What is it?" asked Judy.

"A symbol referring to a very old brand of taser. This is a Turner seventeen single-shot electric handgun. There aren't many of these anymore, and there was only ever one warehouse that stored these."

"Is it likely that anyone would own one of these?"

"As an antique, maybe. This is a very old brand. The Turner's went bankrupt years ago, before Mayor Lionheart was even, well, Mayor Lionheart."

"Do you know where this warehouse would be?" Stacy asked.

"Well, if I remember correctly, the only existing warehouse they had before bankruptcy was that abandoned warehouse just outside of town. Can't miss it. Last I heard, though, the place is empty. The Turner's cleaned shop and left it to rust away."

Judy looked at Nick, and the fox couldn't believe that the organization that was after him was residing in the very place he'd intended to purchase one day.

"Sounds like we have a lead," Stacy said. "We need to tell Bogo about this."

"Let's go," Judy said. "Nick, you're gonna have to stay here."

"What, why?"

"If Prey really is at this warehouse, then you can't be seen with us there. Especially since you're not a cop. Prey will notice, and before you know it, they'll find a way to figure you out. You have to stay here for your own safety."

Nick sighed, his shoulders falling. He knew she was right. But he didn't want to leave her, not when something might happen. Even with the entirety of the ZPD there, he would want to be there with her too. He could convince her. He could easily come up with a few good arguments that would sway her, but... she was right.

"Fine," he said. "Just be careful. Both of you."


	21. Chapter 21

Sirens blared around Judy as she waited outside the very warehouse she'd stared at with Nick a year ago. How ironic the world could be sometimes. Out of all the places in Zootopia, the anarchist-gone-terrorist group had decided to station themselves here. At least, Judy thought they did. She would find out in a minute when she and the other officers raided the place and arrested any Prey member inside for the attempt at Mayor Lionheart's life. Because they would find proof here, they had to.

Bogo spoke something into his radio, leaving the wired device in his car and standing beside Judy. They'd already issued an order via megaphone, just to get nothing but silence as their response.

Judy felt her phone vibrate and had a pretty good idea that a certain fox was texting to make sure she was okay. He must have gone back to her apartment if he'd gotten his phone back. Of course, her parents could be texting her, heaven knows they hadn't done that in a while.

Judy heard Bogo sigh next to her and watched as the buffalo ordered his officers to go into the warehouse, Stacy and Judy included. They were careful, quiet, and ready, the fear and excitement of what dangers may be behind the very large warehouse door motivating them. She looked to Stacy, the wolf looking perfectly calm, taser in hand, her eyes cold with the determination that every officer of the ZPD had.

Several of the larger officers, including Rhinowitz and Pennington lifted the door up, leaving the smaller officers like Stacy and Judy, to aim inside and give their fellow officers cover as they kept the door open for everyone.

Several circles of light moved around the room, each of the lights connected to the taser of an officer that was searching this disappointingly empty warehouse.

"Over here," Fangmeyer called, pointing his light in the corner of the room where a chair was placed, an old-looking recliner.

Judy shone her own light where the chair lay, taking a few steps closer to inspect it for any clues. Then she stopped. A sound caught her attention. A small, very subtle sound. The sound of a moving camera. She looked up towards the upper parts of the wall, shining her light wherever her eyes moved to.

There it was, blended well against the rusty metal walls of the warehouse. She heard that sound again and saw the camera adjust slightly to get a view of Judy from around the light.

"Everybody RUN!" Judy yelled at the top of her voice, and every single officer didn't hesitate for a second to listen to the bunny's warning. Every smaller officer ran out, and the larger officers dropped the door behind them. Bogo yelled for the soldiers to run faster as he himself ran with them. The loudest boom they'd ever heard followed them as they ran, the force from the blast pushing them to their feet.

Judy curled herself into a ball, protecting her vitals from any debris. She didn't allow herself to look at what remained of the warehouse until she was sure the explosion was over. The warehouse was reduced to nothing but a burning pile surrounded by sharp debris.

The bunny breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the police cars were fine. They'd taken on some shards of debris. Broken windows and the like. Still, it would be a lot less expensive than having to get whole new cars.

A grunt came from Judy's left, and the bunny looked to see Delgato laying on the ground, a smallish shard of rusted metal sticking out of his back, another sticking out of his arm.

"Delgato!" yelled Johnson, crouching next to the injured lion, trying to decide what he should be doing to help his fellow officer. Judy was about to join him, when her ears perked at the sound of tires screeching against the ground. The rest of the officers watched as one of their police cars drove off into the city, carrying a pig from what Judy could tell.

"Hopps! After that criminal. Snowclaw, Wolfson, go with her, we'll stay with Delgato."

Judy nodded with that famous determination on her face and ran to her own police car, Stacy and Wolfson hopping in with her, Stacy in the passenger's seat, Wolfson in the middle seat. She sped off immediately, making extra sure to go around the officers staying with Delgato, hoping that he would be okay.

"Oh, whoever this is, he's going to pay," Wolfson mumbled to himself. Stacy put a paw on his, squeezing it lightly, getting the fellow wolf to calm down.

"Yes, he is. But this needs to be legal. Let the justice system do her job and we'll do ours." Stacy's little comforting speech was cut short when Judy turned a sharp corner, following the speeding police car down the streets of Zootopia, her lights flashing, her sirens blaring.

Judy tried to think of a way to stop the car, all the while focusing on staying on its tail.

"Clawhauser," Judy spoke into her radio, throwing it to Stacy so she could continue to focus on her driving. "We need any extra officers at the ZPD here now! There's a car chase going on near the edge of Savannah Central, on Predsen street. All available backup there is to be sent here now."

"You got it, Jude." And that was it. Stacy put the radio back into place and Judy continued to think of a way to stop the car until backup would show. Stacy seemed to be doing the same, and Wolfson just seemed outright angry, looking like he was fighting the urge to bare his teeth.

"You know what?" Judy said, tossing her phone to Stacy. "Password is four-seven-six-three, call Nick."

Stacy followed the instructions quietly. Judy had been here for a long time, but nobody knew these streets like Nick Wilde.

"Hey, Carrots. How'd the cliche warehouse arrest go?"

"Not good. We're in a high speed chase, I need you to help me out here."

"Well, Carrots, I'd love to join, but I don't think Finnick will let me use his van for something like that."

"No, I need you to give me any shortcuts you can so I can stop this freak."

"Ah, clever. Alright, where are you now?"

"Um, we just passed Jimbeaux's."

"Take the third right after that."

Judy waited until the third right came along, then promptly turned, Stacy and Wolfson holding on for dear life.

"After that, keep going until you reach Little Rodentia, then take a sharp left. Once you do that, you need to just go as straight and fast as possible."

Judy didn't bother questioning him, following the instructions wordlessly. Wolfson didn't seem too willing to trust Nick's street smarts at this point, but was also too busy trying not to be thrown out of the car by Judy, seatbelt or not.

Judy turned left once, reaching Little Rodentia, keeping straight after that, avoiding any civilian cars.

She trusted Nick, probably more than anyone else–that was for sure–but this was a little crazy. He wasn't saying anything else, but Judy could practically feel his smile creeping through her phone speakers.

"Brace yourself, Fluff," Nick said simply. Judy tensed, about to ask what the fox meant, until she collided with a police car. Except, with the push bumper hitting the side of the runner's car, it protected Judy's vehicle from any actual damage. The same could not be said, however, for the stolen police car. It spun in circles until it hit a nearby light post, stopping the car almost instantly.

"Nick…" Judy breathed. "How…"

"I'll tell you later, Bun Bun," Nick responded. "You go get whoever stole that car."

Judy hung up and jumped out of the car, running to the crash as the pig jumped out, holding a hoof to her stomach.

"You are under arrest," Judy said, not seeing any injuries on the pig. She didn't seem to have more than a good few bruises, as to be expected. She got lucky, "for affiliation with a terrorist group, the attempted murder of Mayor Lionheart, assaulting and injuring a police officer, vandalism, illegal ownership of highly dangerous explosives, and resisting arrest."

Judy continued to Mirandanize her as she put the cuffed pig in the back of the car. Wolfson looked like he wanted to make her stomach pain much worse, but Stacy kept a paw on him, keeping him from making a very bad decision.

"It's over, Wolfson," Judy said, wondering exactly what had the wolf so riled up. Sure, it was awful that this pig had hurt Delgato, but this was a lot of anger for Wolfson, who usually kept quiet and obeyed orders without question.

"Let's go," Judy said, leading him back to his seat in the car. "We have a pig to arrest and a group to expose."

Judy watched as some fellow officers took the pig to the holding cells, feeling a relief sweep over her that they'd caught Lionheart's bomber. Stacy was one of those officers, punching Judy lightly in the shoulder as she let the bunny officer have her moment of rest after the excitement the three had just gone through.

Judy glanced over at Wolfson, who himself was glancing around, probably for Delgato.

"He's probably at the hospital," Judy said as calmly as she could to him.

"I know," he said back, his ears flattening against his head. "I just hoped that he might be here somehow. Will you help me find him?"

Judy really wanted to be present when questioning the pig bomber, but Stacy could handle it. So would Bogo.

"Sure," she said, "let's go."

"We can take my car." Wolfson fumbled around in his pocket as he started to walk out of the precinct.

"So, what's the deal with Delgato, anyway? I mean, I know he's a fellow officer, but I've never seen you that…"

"Angry?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I surprised myself with that too. Me and Delgato have a past, more so than the other officers here. I love all of you guys, really. You're all my family, even Wilde. But Delgato and I were friends before joining the ZPD, and he really helped me through a lot when we were kids."

They arrived at Wolfson's rather beat up car, and the two hopped in, Judy ignoring all the clutter. Being a clean freak, though, she was really tempted to start straightening up some things for him. The smell of fast food and cheap air freshener made Judy's nose wrinkle.

"What kind of things did he help you with?" Judy asked as Wolfson drove off.

"Same thing all friends help with. He was there when no one else was. If I had something on my mind, he knew immediately"–he snapped his fingers–"just like that. Even when I didn't feel like talking about something, he would just sit there with me, keep me company. Whenever he would have problems of his own, I never knew what to do besides sit there in an awkward silence with him. I'm not exactly good at comforting people. But he seemed fine with it. He just liked the company. Neither of our families were that great. They both sort of just focused on their own lives, and ours were an afterthought. So it was me and him, and no one else, because no one else cared about the two quiet boys in class with poor, dysfunctional families."

"It's good to know you were there for each other."

"Yeah, it was." Wolfson had a smile on his face, an almost sad one. "For a short while, we considered more."

"What does that mean?"

"You know what it means, Judy." Wolfson had that same smile when he looked at her. "But we enjoyed just being two best friends who were there for each other. And it's a good thing we decided to go down that road."

"Why?"

"Misplaced emotions, Judy. If you have someone you care about, sometimes you can get those feelings mixed up. You think things that aren't true."

"That so?" Judy looked out the window.

"Yep, and now things are perfect. We're best friends, he's married, and I've got Angela."

Angela. Judy remembered meeting her once. She was a dark wolf, if memory served, with a dyed red tuft of hair on her head.

"You alright there, Judy?"

"Yeah," she said. "Your story just sounded kind of–"

"Familiar?"

Judy looked at the wolf. He knew what she was thinking about. She looked down, not able to think of a proper response.

"You know," Wolfson started, pulling into the hospital. "If you ask me, Hopps, I don't think you and Wilde have misplaced emotions. I saw how he looked at you when he was an officer. Even when he came into the briefing room, he seemed like he was having trouble thinking of something to say to convince us to help him. Then he looked at you, and it was like he'd gotten a million brilliant ideas. I don't know what's going on in your lives right now, but even if he doesn't know it, Wilde is head over heels for you."

"Really?"

"Yep. Question is, how do you feel about him?" Judy blinked. That was something she couldn't figure out herself. Nick didn't even seem to know. He'd make a grand gesture, then blow it off like it was just an act of companionship, of camaraderie. Maybe he knew. Maybe he could see when she was questioning their relationship, so he backed off and brushed things off so he could try again later. He could read her pretty easily after all, even before they had properly met. "Let's get inside." Wolfson got out of his car. "And Judy? Thanks for coming with me."

Judy smiled and followed him inside the hospital, her mind trying to sort out what Wolfson had told her about Nick.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Judy walked into the room, immediately spotting Nick in the corner, playing with his phone. Walking in further, Judy saw Delgato's wife, a rather scrawny-looking cheetah, and Delgato himself, laying in the bed, the heart monitor beeping sequentially. Wolfson was next to her, then over by Delgato in a flash. Judy looked upon the sad sight. Wife on one side, friend on the other.

Judy slinked over beside Nick, and the fox gave her a glance and an upward quirk of his mouth that vaguely resembled a smile.

"Hey, Carrots," he whispered. "Caught the bad guy?"

"Bad girl, actually. They're questioning her now. When did you get here?"

"Few minutes ago. Figured you'd be here."

"Part of your psychic powers, I presume?"

"Is this about me helping you catch the criminal?"

Judy looked up for a second to make sure that nobody was hearing their little whispered conversation. "I want to know how you did that. And how did you know I'd be here."

"I was close to the precinct when you called me. Clawhauser told me about Delgato, and boom, here I am. As for the criminal, I just got lucky."

"Sometimes I wonder if you work for the government or something with all the stuff and people you know."

Nick smirked at her. "I just might. Of course, if I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"Oh please, what would you do without me? Who would you talk to?"

"I'd take up a career in farming. Plenty of carrots to talk to there."

Just then, Judy spotted the doctor walking in, a jaguar with a mysterious scar on her right cheek. She had an emotionless expression and walked in with a clipboard in one hand. Delgato's wife noticed the doctor and sat up a little straighter, tears staining her cheeks.

"Any updates?" she said with a crack in her voice.

"Well, you can be rest assured that no vitals were injured by the shards. We'll need to keep a close eye out for infection, given that the metal was very rusty. He'll have to stay in here for a few days to make sure he's stable. Luckily, we managed to get all of the shards out, so the worst part of it is over."

"Did you guys put him under or something?" Wolfson asked.

"Yes, sir, we had to put him under anesthesia to remove the shards. He should wake up within the hour."

With nothing left to say, the doctor simply took a glance around the room like a teacher waiting for a student to raise its hand, then left.

"We should probably get to the precinct," Nick said, seeing Judy fidget with her paws quite a bit. She was ready to find out whatever she could about Prey now. Nick just hoped that there was solid proof that this pig was a member of Prey, or that she was just some crazy fanatic trying to get their attention. Either way, Prey was responsible for Mayor Lionheart's and Delgato's hospitalization. Nick didn't like that.

Not at all.

When at the precinct, Judy went into the interrogation room, finding Bogo and Fangmeyer talking quietly to themselves. The room next to them had no pig. The interrogation was over.

"What happened?" Judy asked.

Bogo hadn't heard the little bunny walk in, and turned to face her, scratching at his chin.

"Well," the chief started, "it started off simple enough. Her fingerprints match the taser we found in the desk. When we asked her about it, she cursed herself for leaving it there, then tried to backpedal, so that's solved. As for her reasons for trying to blow up our mayor, or her affiliation with Prey, or even how she got into Lionheart's office to begin with, those are all still mysteries. She's in a cell right now, and Fangmeyer and I were just trying to decide how we're going to get her to talk."

"I might know a way." Judy turned around, not expecting Stacy to be standing there. Nick smiled at the bunny's surprise, and Stacy walked next to Judy with her own smile. A caring smile, one that told Judy that she had this in the bag.

"You can give it a try," Bogo said. "We'll bring Ms. Mudlen back here and–"

"Just bring me to her cell," Stacy said confidently. "I can convince her, trust me."

Nick squinted his eyes, his head tilted curiously. Why would she want to be left alone in a cell with this pig if she wasn't going to do a bit of physical interrogation? Judy glanced at Nick. Suspicion riddled his face.

Bogo stared at her for a second. "You're not going to beat one of our prisoners into talking."

"I know, I'm not," Stacy said, her shoulders dropping a bit. "Chief Bogo, I can talk to her. Just talk. But I need privacy to do it. She won't expect any tricks if she thinks I'm the only one listening."

"Snowclaw, I understand how you may want to take out your anger on this pig for what she did, but you are not allowed to lay a hand on her. That's not what we do here. Go talk to her. Hopps will escort you. Rhinowitz will be waiting to unlock the door for you."

Stacy nodded and walked out of the room, Judy right next to her, Nick following loosely behind.

"Why is everyone so nervous about me talking to Mudlen by myself?"

"After how Wolfson reacted–"

"But what have I done to make Chief Bogo think that I would do something like that?"

"New officers to this precinct have a habit of... being unlucky," Nick said, looking at the walls as they walked to the cells. Stacy's eyes softened when she looked back at Nick, but then she looked forward once more.

"Hey, Rhinowitz. We need Stacy here to talk to Mudlen. Alone," Nick said.

Rhinowitz opened his mouth, then shook his head and unlocked the cell door, allowing Stacy in.

"Ms. Mudlen, is it? Hi, I'm Stacy. I was wondering if I–"

The door shut, closing off any sound from even Judy's ears.

It was just her, Nick, and Rhinowitz now. Nick seemed a bit distracted, and Judy just awkwardly looked around, waiting for something to happen.

"Thinking pretty hard there, Nick?" the bunny asked as she noticed the fox's furrowed brow and intense staring contest with his feet.

"More like wishing I was here an hour or so ago. Something's not right about this. She left her taser inside of Lionheart's desk. If she was sneaky enough to get inside in the first place, don't you think she'd be smart enough not to leave her taser in the mayor's desk?"

"You found it inside of the rubble where the desk was. Maybe she left it on the desk."

"Where Mayor Lionheart would have found it? No."

"So you think it was deliberate?"

"I don't know what I think. It's almost like that taser was planted for us to see. To find. But why? Did Prey want to tie up loose ends?"

"Like they did with Doug?"

"What?"

"Maybe they thought Doug was a loose end, too. Maybe they knew we would try to pin them for hiring criminals to do their dirty work, only to turn it around and point out that we didn't send out a warning about him. He escaped, which made us look worse."

"What would make us look worse with Ms. Mudlen? She tried to kill the mayor. I don't think there's a reason that could argue against that."

"Well, it's possible they planted the taser, right? They were made by that Turner family or something. What does that tell us?"

"The Turners?" Rhinowitz said. "I haven't heard about them since I was a kid."

"You know about them?" Judy asked.

"Yeah. My granddad would tell me about everything he did as a police officer. He showed me the taser once, said that the two prongs could tell what size any mammal was, and based on that, it would send whatever shock it needed to. Pretty advanced for its time. Those things were rough, though. He said they knocked out anyone they tased instantly. The Turners went bankrupt, though. It wasn't that people weren't buying their tasers; in fact they were standard issue for all officers. But they just went under, and their tasers eventually stopped working as well after so many mammals used them and no one was there to really repair or replace them. So, a lot of mammals usually just keep them for the sake of keeping them."

"If that's the case, then how did Mudlen have a working one?"

"Are we really sure that it works?" Nick asked. "I mean, if that taser was planted there, it wouldn't specifically need to work. And if Mudlen had been caught sneaking into City Hall, that's game over, taser or not. They would have made sure Lionheart didn't have anything dangerous in his office and she would have been arrested."

"And if she knew she left her taser in Lionheart's desk–"

"Then why would she be staying at that warehouse, ready to blow it up at a moment's notice?"

Judy and Nick both started searching their minds for reasons, clues, or any details they may have missed.

"A distraction?" Rhinowitz offered. "Maybe Prey wanted to keep you preoccupied with Mudlen so they could do something behind closed doors. Why not give up one of their own if it means they can carry out a plan of theirs?"

"But what's the plan?" Judy asked herself. "Any recent updates from the officers guarding Lionheart?"

"They reported in under an hour ago, said everything was calm and normal. They would have called in if something was going down. And we moved the officers inside of his room to keep a closer eye on him and not draw any attention. His location is a very closely guarded secret."

Stacy knocked on the door, signaling for Rhinowitz to open up and let her out. Judy watched the disgruntled face of Ms. Mudlen disappear behind the door as Rhinowitz closed it up.

"Anything?" Judy asked.

"Well, she said she was told to plant that taser there, and that she got into the mayor's office by using the cameras. She supposedly had someone telling her where and when to move by watching the guard's patrol patterns." Stacy looked at Nick. "They still don't know who you are."

"Did she say anything else?"

"No. She realized that I was tricking her into revealing information and decided to keep her mouth shut. I don't think we'll be getting anything else from her anytime soon."

"Ah, I know that hustle," Nick said. "You ask a bunch of roundabout questions, get them comfortable, get them talking. Next thing you know, they accidentally spill a tidbit here and there. I used to do it when I saw someone that looked new to Zootopia. A bright-eyed, bushy-tailed bunny trying to be a big city cop, for example." He smiled down at the glaring Judy.

"Anyway," Stacy said. "We know now that they planted that taser there so we'd find that warehouse. I guess they thought they'd blow us up, too."

"Of course!" Judy said, slapping her paw to her face. "They didn't send us to the warehouse as a distraction. They wanted to take us out."

"That makes a little more sense. This Mudlen character must not be very good at her job, though. Jeez, both times she tries to blow someone up, both times she fails." Nick stopped for a second, then looked at Stacy. "We're sure she works for Prey, right?"

"She didn't reveal anything like that. But we know she does. Who else would be able to hack into City Hall's cameras? It's not a coincidence that Mudlen happened to have someone with extraordinary hacking abilities to help her break into City Hall, and only days before, a mysterious group shows up by hacking into everyone's TVs."

"You should tell the chief what Mudlen said," said Rhinowitz.

"And Carrots and I have somewhere else to be," Nick added, getting behind Judy and gently pushing her forward. "We'll see you guys later."

"What're you talking about?" Judy looked up at him with a scowl, pulling herself out of Nick's grasp and backing up to his side. "What do you mean we have somewhere to go?"

"You realize it's dark out, right?"

"Yeah, I noticed on the way here."

"Which means you've done all you can do today. We're going back to your place where I have a surprise waiting for you."

"Oh no."

"Come on, Carrots," Nick said, throwing his arm around her lazily. "You'll love it, I promise."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"You like surprises way too much, you know that?" Judy said as Nick walked with her down the hallway of her apartment complex.

"Oh, I hate surprises," Nick said, "but I love surprising others."

"I'm going to surprise you with something one day."

"You can try." Nick stepped in front of Judy suddenly, "After a long day of work, I'm sure you'd love to relax."

Judy stared at him for a second, not so ready for whatever surprise he had in store, then unlocked her door and pushed it open, almost expecting to see some kind of extravagant amusement park snugly fitted into her apartment.

But the door swung open, and nothing was there. Nothing that hadn't already been there, at least.

"Okay, Nick, is the surprise that there is no surprise?"

"Love the idea, Carrots, but no. No, there is a surprise waiting for you."

"You did something to my room, didn't you?"

"I did absolutely nothing to your room," Nick smiled. "Just added a couple of things."

Judy took a hesitant step towards her room, then looked back at the fox. His grin resembled a hyena, it was so wide.

"I hate you."

"You sure about that?"

"No." Judy had her paw on her bedroom door. "This'd better not be some sort of prank, Nick." She pushed and the door swung open. Judy wouldn't have noticed anything if it wasn't dark out and her room had no light in it.

Except for the light coming from an arcade game. Judy blinked, then stared, then blinked again. She flipped the light on, seeing that not a thing in her very organized room had been messed up or tampered with. But that empty spot that'd been in the corner of the room was now filled with an old arcade game she used to play all the time when she was a kid.

"You got me an old Pac-Dan?" She looked back at Nick, smiling like a kid in a ballpark. Nick chuckled at how much she resembled a child, and how much he resembled a father, leaning against the doorframe, smiling proudly at his surprise. "Okay, I don't care if you know every mammal in Zootopia, I expect an explanation as to how you managed to get one of these."

"That, my dear Carrots, involved another surprise that I will have to show you one day soon."

"You're infuriating, you know that?" Judy smiled despite herself. "How did you even get this in here?"

"I had Finnick organize some guys to move it in here. And don't worry, he got the guys that wouldn't steal from your place, so nothing will go missing."

"How did they get in here?"

"Believe it or not, Finnick is actually pretty slick with a lockpick, despite his otherwise blunt nature. He is a fox at heart, after all."

"I don't know what to say, Nick. You always do this. Do you ever run out of surprises?"

"Yes," Nick smiled devilishly at her. "I just never run out of ideas." Judy looked at the old Pac-Dan game, wondering how she got so lucky to befriend someone like Nick. Then she thought about how much he was doing for her. He always had something to get her mind off work, especially since he'd returned to Zootopia. He'd been pulling every string, contacting every mammal he knew to keep surprising Judy like this.

And she didn't need it. She didn't need any of this stuff, any of these surprises. It was like Nick was trying to make up for something.

"Well, what're you waiting for, Carrots? Pac-Dan's getting hungry."

Judy closed her eyes tight, making sure she was ready to say what she had on her mind, then whirled around, leaning against the old game for support.

"What's the deal, Nick?" she asked, seeing a small twitch in his smile after the question. His eyebrow raised, and his smile finally collapsed into a genuinely confused look. Before he could say anything, Judy was already opening her own mouth. "All of this stuff, all of these surprises. Nick, it's too much. You never did this much stuff when you were here last time." She stopped for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. "I'm not saying I don't love these things you're doing for me, but Nick... what's going on? Why are you throwing your money and connections at me like this? Is it because you're trying to make up for the time we lost? I don't care about that. I'm just glad you're back. Are you sorry for your condition? That's not your fault. Do you feel responsible for Prey coming after the ZPD? We chose to help you, Nick. Nothing's happening that you should be sorry for."

Nick stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, his eyes wide, both eyebrows raised, his mouth formed into a worried frown. He opened his mouth, then closed it and continued staring. Judy just calmly watched him, trying to figure out if she'd said something wrong.

"I…" Nick started, trying to gather the words in his head to a point where they'd make sense. "I don't know what to say. That was... not the reaction I expected to an arcade game." Judy just watched him as he looked like he was ready to say his own piece. "Carrots, I know work has been stressful for you, and I just want to decrease that stress. You're my friend, after all, and a lot has been happening lately that I think you should have a break from. This has nothing to do with anything you just said."

"Are you sure about that, Nick?"

"I mean," he took a step towards her. "I guess I have been a little... over the top with all of these surprises and stuff. I guess I just…" He leaned against the game with his bunny friend, crossing his arms. He sighed. "I guess I do feel kind of responsible for this whole thing. I just can't help but feel like I could have avoided all of this. I decided to run from my problems like I always do, and as a result, I got the whole Police Department of Zootopia in trouble with Prey. If I'd just stayed in my cell, accepted what happened, I'm sure we would have found a cure or something. And then we could have probably told Zootopia about everything. They would have understood that Bellwether had a backup plan. But now I have everyone in a tangled web of lies. Lionheart knows that, too. I could tell he wasn't thrilled with me after everything that happened. And the ZPD didn't choose to help me. Or I guess they did, but that was after Lionheart forced them to keep quiet about it anyway."

Judy put a paw on his, keeping him there with her. "You don't have to be sorry, Nick. We'll get this fixed, and afterwards, maybe we can tell Zootopia. The mammals here probably won't be too happy, but no one can say we didn't have our reasons. And this?" Judy gestured to the game. "You don't have to do this anymore, Nick. You don't have to cover up your guilt with gifts and surprises. Just be Nick. And save those connections for when we need something for an investigation. It could be useful."

Nick smiled again, a genuine smile. This wasn't a joke anymore. He was grateful and happy for the bunny next to him, that even after everything, she still loyally talked to him and was there for him. How had he gotten so lucky, after everyone he'd scammed and hurt, after all the things he'd done, that he'd been given this little ball of fur next to him?

"Thanks, Judy," he said. He sighed and looked behind him at the game. "Ready to play now?"

"You bet," Judy said, turning around as Nick went to the kitchen to get something to drink. Just as Judy got the machine turned on, ready to play the night away, she heard Nick yell from the kitchen.

"Are you okay with one more surprise?"

Judy rolled her eyes, "I suppose so, you dumb fox."

"Well, since the last ones got left behind…" Judy turned around and saw Nick walking in with a large pink box. He flipped the lid open, and Judy got full sight of the chocolate and carrot-cake flavored donuts held inside.

"Oh, Nick," she said. "Are you just trying to fatten me up?"

"Agh, my nefarious plan has been foiled," said the fox as he picked out a nice chocolate one and held the box out for Judy to grab a carrot-cake-flavored one. "Sly bunny."

After eating up the delicious donut, Judy turned back around and started the game, Nick smiling from the bed as he casually munched on another donut. He watched as Judy started moving her circular shaped character, eating away at every tiny dot that Nick always assumed was cheese. After a good few of the dots had been ingested by the Pac-Dan, the four little ghosts of various colors escaped their prison and started chasing the focused Judy's character. She glared at the screen with an almost frightening amount of determination and continued to dodge each ghost while relentlessly scarfing down every piece of "cheese."

"Careful you don't get eaten up by the ghosts, Carrots," Nick said, popping the last of the donut into his mouth, savoring the chocolate icing on each of his fingers as he licked it off.

"Careful you don't eat too many of those things, Nick, or you might become a ghost yourself."

"I would make a fantastic ghost and you know it." He smiled at the back of her head. "I would love to haunt Bogo while he's playing with that Gazelle app on his phone."

Judy giggled, "Don't make me laugh, I'm trying to focus here." Nick stopped long enough to get a better look at her progress. She'd actually gotten a good third of the area cleared of cheese pieces. The ghosts kept cleverly following the protocol their creator bestowed upon him, but none were clever enough to trap Judy.

The fox saved his commentary while Judy started finishing up the last third of the cheese, starting to get invested in it. After a quick phone call with her parents, Nick knew this was one of Judy's favorite games growing up, but the last thing he expected was for her to be so good at it, especially after years of not even touching it.

"Almost... done," Judy ground her teeth as she leaned in closer to the screen, the last few pieces of cheese disappearing into Pac-Dan. Judy was going to do it, just like she'd done so many times so many years ago. She was going to beat this game.

Pac-Dan travelled his way through the last line of cheese, munching it up steadily. Only one piece of cheese was left, and just as Pac-Dan gobbled it up...

The power went out.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Wha–" Judy stared at the machine in shock for a second, then looked back at Nick, wondering for a moment if he'd somehow planned some sort of sick prank on her. She quickly took her phone out and turned the flashlight on, shining it at the fox, who put a paw over his eyes to protect himself from the sudden light.

When he saw her unhappy face, he simply shrugged and put his hands up, showing he had nothing to do with the sudden loss of power. Judy walked over to her blinds, her phone showing her the path, and pulled them aside, watching with shock as the rest of the buildings in her view lost power as well, the lights blinking out one after the other.

"Woah," Nick breathed as he joined her, no light needed. "Is there a storm or something?"

"I don't think so."

"You don't think…"

"Why would they? Of all the shady things they've done, what would Prey have to gain from no power?"

"Security shutting down in some places who can't afford a backup system."

"For what? Banks, stores, they have no reason to just rob places."

Both of their phones buzzed, and Nick looked at Judy's phone with her, seeing that social media was blowing up. All of Zootopia had lost power completely for the first time in its history.

And if Zootopia lost power…

"The generators that keep Sahara Square hot and Tundra Town cold," Judy breathed.

"They have reserves. They'll be fine."

"I wonder why Prey hasn't made a video or anything. It would have showed up before the power went out."

"There is the chance that we're being paranoid and Zootopia is just having its first blackout."

Judy ignored what Nick said and stared out her window at the darkness, thinking heavily about what Prey could be doing with the lights out.

"If Prey really did do this," Judy started. "I'm gonna make sure someone pays for ruining my game."

"I pity that poor mammal."

Judy's phone rang and the bunny answered it promptly.

"Chief Bogo," she said, looking at Nick as she listened to whatever the chief had to say. "Yes, I'm aware of the power outage. Do you know how it happened?" Judy listened for a second, then stared at Nick with a pale face, putting the phone on speaker. "Say that again, chief."

"I said the power plant has been compromised. We got a distress call from Jimmy, the head of the plant. Someone broke in and shut down everything. I think we can all agree who is responsible for this."

"I'm headed there now."

"I'm sending Snowclaw to your apartment. Our other officers are handling the citizens. We don't want any chaos from this. We're stretched thin, Hopps. Be careful."

"Got it." Judy hung up the phone and ran to the door, Nick right behind her. "What're you doing?"

"Following," Nick said simply.

"No," Judy said. "Just like past time, this could be a trick and if they find out that you–"

"We don't have time for this. You and Stacy can't do this by yourselves. I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."

Judy opened her mouth to protest, but that look–She'd never seen Nick look that determined. His eyes seemed even more green, and as the bunny was locked into his piercing gaze, she found the ability to say no significantly harder.

"Okay," Judy said, realizing she couldn't say anything else. "Let's go. But you need to be careful. As clever as you are, Prey has still been one step ahead of us."

"Not this time. They've grown careless, and they weren't able to truly convince Zootopia to buy into their messages. Mammals who're deprived of attention tend to do more desperate things in order to get it."

Judy turned and left the apartment, Nick following behind her. He felt more confident with each step down the hallway, the feeling of possible danger exciting and scaring him at the same time. Something deep down inside of him warned of Prey's intentions this time.

This group had tried hard to convince the mammals of Zootopia, and the citizens did seem to be starting to doubt a thing or two. Of course, patience and consistency were two important things in getting the citizens' attention.

Nick felt strange about how quickly Prey had just turned hostile. Had they realized how far they'd gone when attacking the mayor? Were they going to try and blame the ZPD like they always did? Maybe they would threaten the "infected predator" of the ZPD to step up and show himself, and in return they would restore Zootopia's power. And if the reserves didn't turn on soon…

Nick was broken out of his thoughts by a thud. He looked down, immediately seeing Judy grab her knee and mutter a very unpleasant thing.

"You okay?" the fox asked her, putting a paw on her shoulder as she put her leg back down and continued to try and make her way through the hallway, the flashlight on her phone courageously shining through as much of the darkness as it could. All they needed to do was to get outside, and Stacy would be right there waiting for them.

"Yeah," she said to the darkness. "Why haven't those reserves kicked in yet?"

"They're not designed for that." He kept a close eye on his surroundings to make sure he could warn Judy of anymore objects in the hallway. He had to wonder sometimes what it was like to be trapped in darkness like that. It had never been a problem for him. How did Judy feel having to stumble and rely on her friend to guide her? "They're designed to keep the weather control systems in place from shutting down. If that happened, a bump in the knee will be the last of our problems."

"Well, we can't let that happen," Judy seemed to quicken her pace, ignoring her brain's pleas to be more careful.

They managed to get out of the building without any more accidents from Judy.

Nick spotted the car out in front and led Judy to her seat in the middle, squeezing himself into the right one.

"This is insane," Stacy said as the door closed and she drove off. "How did this even happen?"

"Someone broke into the power plant and took it over. We think it's Prey," Judy said.

"Of course it's Prey." Stacy drove faster, hoping that some poor souls wouldn't be dumb enough to walk out in the road. "Why would they do this? To cause chaos? Did they find out who you were, Nick?"

"No. No, they would have made an announcement. Exposed me in front of the entirety of Zootopia."

"That's what's really weird. They didn't make any sort of announcement or send any messages our way. Whatever plan they have, I don't think it'll end well for Zootopia."

"Not unless we get in there and stop it." Judy stared out the windshield, grateful for the ability to at least see a little bit with the headlights on. "They'll pay for this."

"Here we are," Stacy said, pulling up slowly to the plant, her eyes scanning everywhere they could. "I don't see any guards. Everything seems quiet."

"Prey and quiet don't usually go very well together," Nick said. "I can't help but feel like this is another distraction."

"It is. They knew the other officers would be busy keeping everyone safe to come here. That leaves us."

"That's not what I meant." Nick turned his head to Stacy. "I mean I feel like this power plant break in is another distraction. With all of us busy now, Prey can do whatever they want in the darkness."

"We can't worry about that right now," Judy chimed in. "If we can stop this and get the power on, whatever they're doing will have to be put to a halt."

Stacy shut the car off and sat for a moment. All three of them did. There was a heavy silence in the car. They knew something was up, and the impending danger was weighing them down in their seats. But someone had to get in and stop this.

Judy hopped out of the car, followed by Nick. Stacy did the same and all three of them silently stalked to the plant. They went to the front gate first, the interlocked metal wires severed in a spot just big enough for them to crawl through.

The gravel tried to move and crunch beneath their feet, but they were all stepping quietly, moving with it.

Judy looked hopelessly at the large plant, wondering where they would have to look first, and how long it might take to find Prey.

"Any ideas as to how we're going to look for these guys?" Judy whispered, thankful that she had two nocturnal animals helping her through the dark.

"Actually," Nick said. "I've been here before. Remember Jimmy, the guy Bogo mentioned? He's an old friend of mine. Gave me a tour of tour of the place when I told him I was curious about how it looked on the inside."

Stacy looked at Nick with a surprised gaze. "Jeez, you just know everybody, don't you?"

"Don't even say it," Judy held a finger up when Nick smiled back at her. Even in the dark, she could tell when that dreaded smile was pointed at her.

Nick took the lead, taking them to the nearest entrance that he was aware of. Judy felt around her pocket and took her phone out, turning the light on. She was sick of being led in the dark. When the light flipped on, she was faced with her two friends and a metal door.

"Ready, Carrots?" Nick asked, looking back at her, his face suddenly serious.

"Let's go," she simply said. Nick opened the door and headed in with Stacy and Judy. The entire interior of the plant was blanketed in red light. She turned the light of her phone off. "Well, better than nothing, eh, Carrots?" He lightly elbowed her in the shoulder.

"Where now, Nick?" Stacy asked.

"In the middle of the plant, there's supposed to be a large console that monitors the status of the power in each district of Zootopia. There are controls that can turn off the power if they need to divert some to maintain the weather control generators. Until now, they've never been used. I just hope the controls haven't been destroyed."

"Lead us there."

Nick walked up a set of nearby stairs, took a left, then continued down that hallway. He kept his ears out for any footsteps or voices. The last thing he wanted was to be caught by a Prey member. Where were all of the workers? Had they rounded them up? He made it to the end of the hallway, letting his memory guide him as he went up another set of stairs and took another left.

There was a door at the end of this next hallway, which Nick remembered as the door to the controls. This was it. There had to be guards there. This would be interesting.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Stacy said. "I brought you this, Nick, in case you didn't have a weapon. She handed him a rather slim looking gun, slimmer than a taser for sure. "A tranquilizer. Expensive, but useful and quieter."

Nick looked down at it for a second. "Where did you–"

"That's not important right now. We need to stop these guys. Let's go." Nick looked down at the tranquilizer for a second. He'd always questioned the logic behind them, especially when it came down to the drastic difference in the sizes of mammals. Still, he didn't question it. It would be good to have a defense against whatever attack may await them.

Nick paused long enough to get a breath, then pushed the door open, the three of them with their weapons pointed. The room looked empty, the red light revealing nothing but the console and the floor.

The three slowly wandered over to the console, alert and ready to fire upon any movement. Nick took one last scan around the room before turning to the console, Judy and Stacy covering him as he flipped the first switch.

Sahara Square was once again operational. Nick flipped the second switch and watched Tundra Town go up in lights. Two switches later, Nick had restored power to the Rainforest District and Savannah Central. Judy felt a sense of relief hit her hard as the lights all flipped on in the power plant.

Then the door shut.

And there were tasers pointed at them from all directions. The mammal who closed the door was a black wolf, his eyes filled with a fury the likes of which Judy had never seen.

She watched as the black wolf walked towards them, keeping his distance. Nick, Stacy, and herself still had their own weapons pointed, for all the good they would do.

"Weapons down," said the black wolf. "This doesn't have to get ugly. Not yet, anyway."

Nick was the first to comply, dropping the tranquilizer and kicking it across the floor. Judy followed shortly after, then Stacy. Weaponless, they stood there in front of the console, all of them searching for an escape.

"You three have been a real pain in the neck," said the wolf. "Nick, Judy... yes, and Stacy."

Nick wasn't expecting them to know his name. He glanced at Judy to see what she thought of it.

The wolf stopped for a second, noticing the action, "Yes, I know who you are, Nick. I also know about your little condition, but we'll get to that later. My name is Suren, and these are my faithful friends, all here in the fight against predators."

"Against predators?" Nick scoffed. "Ever take a look in the mirror, Midnight?"

"I may be one of those animals in body, but in mind, I know they are wrong."

"Wrong in what way?"

"In existing with prey! It's unnatural. Predators cannot be simply domesticated by evolution. We all have that monster inside of us. Prey should not have to deal with that, to live in fear."

"Dang, I already thought you were crazy, but now? Pfft, you're off your nut, man."

"You don't understand, do you, Nick? Let me explain this in a more... calm manner. You see, predators may have 'evolved' into what we are today, but we are not going to stay that way. No, when Bellwether used that serum on the predators, it didn't turn them savage. It evolved them at a rapid pace, showed us what we'll be years from now. And the chaos. When the serum took place, there were so many attacks, so many injured innocents. Mammals almost died." Suren stared blankly at the floor, then looked back up at them. "You, little bunny, will be eaten alive one night by that fox. The way he just looked at you, the way he stays close to you in order to protect you. He wants you, and when he evolves, you'll be his first victim."

"You should do your research, Suren," Judy said. "The nighthowlers didn't evolve anyone. It just turned preds savage. And it doesn't just affect them. It affects prey too. My family encountered that. One of their relatives ate the flower and went insane. Bit my mother's arm. A bunny can go savage, just like any mammal that ingests the serum."

"You're lying."

"If you're so confident, then why don't you get some serum and try it out on one of the mammals in here? From what I can tell, they're all prey. They should be safe from it, right?"

"I'm not falling for your tricks." Suren looked furious, his eyes bulging, his teeth grinding. This was too much. This wolf was a fanatic. He truly believed in his cause, no matter what anyone said. He would continue to believe he was right until he was taken down. "Do you know why we did what we did? To save prey from predators, make Zootopia a safe haven for those afraid of preds like me going savage. Once it is clean, I will leave as well, and put one of my best in charge.

"We tried to warn the mammals of Zootopia of the danger they were in. They ignored us, too brainwashed by their mayor to understand. So we went after the selfish lion. But even then, our attempts failed. And all of you, at the ZPD, keeping this savage animal with you. Nick could turn on you at any moment. I saw the video. But Zootopia trusts their predator-filled police department. That's why we kept Nick's condition a secret. We wanted you all to lie through your teeth, only for us to swoop in and reveal that it really was Nick after all. Zootopia's trust in you would have been broken. Then we realized something. They don't trust you. No, they fear you.

"We knew what we had to do then. When the lights go out, no one needs to fear anymore. They can take the fight to the predators when they least expect it. But you've ruined that as well."

"You expect prey to fight the predators," Stacy said. "Most of which can see in the dark. Jeez, Suren you really have gone mad."

"Is that why you left our little group, Stacy? Or was it because you fell head over heels for this fox?!"

Nick slowly turned his gaze over to Stacy, Judy already staring at whom she considered a friend.

"Go ahead, Snow! Tell them what you are?"

"I... transferred here from my precinct so I could bed myself in and find out who the infected predator was. At the time, I was unaware that Suren already knew. I would have been able to convince Zootopia that all preds were bad." Nick just stared, mouth agape. How had he not seen this? "But then I realized what a crazy freak Suren was and gave up."

"Ironically, after you went on that little date with Nicky boy over here." He stared at the fox. "We lost our best member because of you. How do you do it, Nicky? The only reason she joined the group was so she could go after foxes. Understandable, after what happened to her family. But that doesn't matter anymore. I have no sympathy for traitors."

"Why didn't you tell us about where they were, what their plans were?" Judy asked the white wolf.

Stacy swallowed. "I didn't know. Prey never stayed in one place for too long. Suren never kept anyone too informed because he doesn't trust anyone but himself." Stacy blinked away some tears that were forming. She knew this would happen eventually, and she still wasn't prepared. "I just wanted to help the ZPD after I quit, you have to believe me."

"You don't know how crazy you are, Suren," Nick said. "You need to be stopped, or you're going to get innocents hurt." Judy softened her stare at Stacy. Nick... something about his voice. It was so soft... so... familiar. She looked at him, and something about him was different. His eyes were wide open, his features changed into something sinister. His eyes... as empty as they were on that night... that night he kidnapped her.

"Uh oh," Suren said with a smile on his muzzle. "Looks like Nicky has forgotten to take his medicine. There it is, bunny rabbit. Youre partner betrayed you, and your lover is about to turn against you." Suren looked carefully at Nick. "But it's just getting started now. Judy, tell me... what happens when a dangerous beast is kept inside its cage for too long?"

Judy just stared at her captor angrily, a look that actually sent chills up Suren's spine. He kept a cool smile, but casually broke eye contact. "I'll tell you what happens. They get more and more desperate, clawing their way out. Chewing through the ropes. And when they get rid of that cage, they have nothing stopping them from satiating their appetite." Suren smiled wickedly at Nick as the fox put a hand to his head, slowly getting to his knees. "The beast is scratching its way out, Judy. And when he shows himself... well, let's just say" –he took out a camera– "all of Zootopia will finally understand."

Suren held the camera up, watching as Judy and Stacy were pulled back by a zebra and an elephant. The black wolf smiled and said, "This is going to be very interesting." And with a click of his finger…

The camera was recording.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Nick felt his body fighting against him, his mind the only line of defense, the only thing keeping him from becoming... whatever it was that slept beneath his skin.

 _If I can just find a way to get the pills in my pocket without him noticing._ But Nick saw how quickly that elephant and zebra grabbed Judy and Stacy. By the time he even tried to pop a pill in his mouth, they'd be on him.

Nick had to question if this was somehow live, if the camera was catching every single moment for Zootopia to see. No, that wasn't possible, not the way he was recording it. No, he'd find a way to upload it though. And then what? The city would be thrust into chaos, just like he'd wanted since the beginning.

Nick threw himself to the right, to where he was least likely to be seen reaching into his pocket. Suren was savoring every moment, too caught up in his little production to notice Nick's hand slip into his pocket. The pills, those heavenly things moved around in the crumpled little baggie as he tried to pick one out.

There it was. One of the pills slipped into his paw, ready to fix this problem. For now at least. But Nick had gotten too focused, what with fighting his own body and trying to force himself to get a pill out, that he didn't notice Suren getting closer. Before he knew it, a foot collided with his stomach, and the pill was out of his hands. Suren reached into his pocket and grabbed the baggie, laughing grimly as he continued his recording.

"No way are you getting out of this one, Wilde. I don't care if you're the slickest con man alive, there's no hustling anyone anymore." The black wolf peeked around the camera. He wanted to see Nick change with his own naked eye. "You're going to be the worse thing that happened to Zootopia since the nighthowlers. Even worse, if everything goes as planned."

"You're locked up–" Nick ground his teeth and groaned in pain. "You're locked up in here with a fox going savage." He breathed for a second. "Seems a bit dangerous to me."

"Oh no, Nicholas," Suren said. "You're going to attack the closest living things to you. And it just so happens that a bunny is one of those closest things. This won't just be a predator going savage. This will be a bloodthirsty monster breaking its way through anything that it wants." Nick's eyes were wild as he stared up at Suren, but the wolf continued anyway. "How sad. The ZPD protected the identity of their infected officer, only for him to go savage and kill one of their finest officers. What a tragedy, and it'll send the message that no predator can be trusted, no matter who they are."

"Judy," Nick whispered to the bunny, not even looking at her. He didn't want to scare her. "Stacy." There was only one way out of this, and it would not be pretty. Judy would never forgive him, Stacy would go back to hating him, but this was the only way out, the only way to save the only two officers that could tell this story. He just hoped– no, he prayed– that Judy would know what to do when he enacted this plan. "Now."

Nick pulled himself up and flipped the switch to Savannah Central. Seconds later, the lights in the plant went out. Nick had little time to do this before the emergency lights kicked on. The sound of tasers firing burst in the dark, the flash of electricity almost blinding. Nick let go, let his mind give into the serum. It felt painful, like he had a migraine, then nothing.

Nick felt no pain, nor did he feel emotion. He simply watched through his eyes as his body moved for him. With his night vision, he could see the panicking faces of many of the prey that worked for Suren. He watched Judy and Stacy escape their captives. Stacy fought off a few mammals while Judy hopped on Suren and took his camera. The two officers left the room as quickly as possible. Judy looked back at him with sadness in her eyes. Nick almost felt something. A small pang.

But it was gone in a second, and his anger came back, his instincts taking over, his bloodthirsty appetite insatiable.

It was all a blur from there. A blur of fur and claws and yelps and tasers and chasing. Nick tore his way through the crowd of Prey, all of them trying to escape the room, but to no avail. Nick pounced and bit and clawed his way through each individual mammal in the room. Suren grabbed the tranquilizer and shot Nick. For a second, and a second only, he felt the prick of the needle. But it was gone with another burst of adrenaline.

There was a sick joy that came with this. The thrill of the hunt, the excitement of the chase, the adrenaline from the pain. It was all so good, and Nick let himself fall deeper and deeper into the wild rage that was the savage predator. But there was one little sliver inside of him, one tiny piece of Nick Wilde that kept this beast from doing one thing.

Killing.

He bit and snapped and broke and tore, but he left them all alive. He wouldn't allow himself to cross that line, not yet, not while he still had something left within him. But it was getting harder. His vision started getting darker, and that meant he would soon be gone. Nick Wilde would be nothing but a memory, and all that would be left was the fox.

Suren angrily kicked and screamed, but Nick pulled him to the ground, his jaws clamped tightly around the wolf's leg. He didn't let go until the leader of Prey was unconscious. The wild animal stared around at all of the mammals in the room, all with horrible injuries, either moaning in pain or unconscious.

But there it was, that urge. The urge to cross the line. His vision got even darker, he needed to get out of here before it was too late. The door opened, and the fox saw a bunny peek through. He was starving. He hadn't eaten, and what was a successful hunt without a meal? He pounced and the bunny was beneath him in a heartbeat. The fear in her eyes was not satisfactory, not like the others, but the fox was hungry, and the fox had to eat.

But his vision got even darker and darker. He didn't feel the kick of a white wolf, but he saw the wolf stare at him with panic. He needed to feast before it was too late. But the fox couldn't fight it anymore. The darkness in his vision, he'd been wrong. It wasn't the urge to kill.

It was the tranquilizer.

Just as that realization kicked into the fox's mind, everything went dark.

He had not feasted.

What a waste of a hunt.

Chief Bogo stared down at Stacy, the white wolf looking like she would have rather been trapped in that room with Nick.

"Why have you told me this?" Bogo asked, his gaze petrifying.

"You deserved to know, especially since it's no secret anymore. I wanted to be the one to tell you, not Judy or Nick."

"And you felt the need to not reveal this when you did decide to leave Prey? To me, it seems suspiciously that you knew they would get caught, and quit to get out of a prison cell." Bogo leaned back in his chair a bit. "Still, you did save Hopps from Wilde, and you assisted in stopping Prey, so I suppose I won't throw you in a jail cell." Bogo sighed and shook his head. "I've gotten way too soft."

"Before you even ask me, Chief." Stacy set her badge down on his desk. "I think we can both agree that I don't deserve this badge."

"I think that's for the best," Bogo said. "Hopps was already here, I'm not sure if you knew that. She seemed pretty upset about finding out, and yet she came to tell me that she wouldn't have been here without you. And I have to admit, you were good help and followed orders without question." Bogo grabbed the badge. "Still, I cannot trust someone who was previously working for the very people that could have killed hundreds all for the sake of removing predators from Zootopia."

"I understand, Chief," Stacy got up out of her chair, feeling like she really should have been put in jail. Still, now that she was free, she could turn her life around, prove to everyone that knew that she was a better person. And she would start with Judy. "Thank you for giving me a second chance at making things right." The white wolf walked out of the room, suddenly feeling lighter without her badge and the guilt that came with it.

Nick could hear before he could see, his eyes droopy and unresponsive despite his will to see his surroundings. But the beeping was coming from a heart monitor, annoyingly keeping a steady rhythm, each beep making his head throb with pain. Finally, he willed his eyes to open to see that he was in a hospital room, not that it was much of a surprise, thanks to the monitor.

What was a surprise were the straps that kept his paws and feet down. He felt his heartbeat quicken its pace, the monitor matching the noise, making his panic worse. He looked down at his mouth and realized that there was no muzzle hooked around his head. And the heart monitor might make the doctors think that he was going savage and put a muzzle on him anyway, so he laid back and forced himself to try and calm down. His breathing became long and slow, and the monitor started slowing down with it.

He closed his eyes and there was a small flashback shoved into his mind. Him standing in front of a mirror, making sure he looked good for the day. How silly he was back then, caring about how he looked for mammals, for those who would rather him not even exist. No, he'd learned quickly not to try and get noticed or care about his appearance. But he looked away from the mirror for a second, and the moment he glanced back at his reflection, he saw himself with a muzzle strapped on, tears staining his cheeks, paralyzing fear in his eyes. The next thing Nick remembered after seeing that was crying in the corner of his bathroom, his mother running in and comforting him, fruitlessly asking him what was wrong.

Nick blinked and he was back in the hospital room, fighting back the tears that wanted to crawl down his cheeks. He wasn't going to let this happen. He wasn't going to let his past try and haunt him now, not when he was already trying to recover from letting himself go savage. He still didn't understand how the doctors had managed to calm him down. Maybe Judy had found his pills and given him one. Or maybe he was still savage and didn't know it. Maybe if someone walked into the room, he would go crazy and try to attack.

He heard the door open and anxiously awaited seeing a doctor with a muzzle in his paw. When he saw a certain bunny police officer walk in instead, he immediately relaxed, not only because his friend was here, but because he didn't go savage again.

"Hey, you," she said with an awkward smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I probably should be," Nick said. "I'm guessing you gave me one of my pills?"

"Yeah." She looked back at the door. "I didn't tell anyone, either."

"Well, I suppose that's good. What happened to Prey?"

"After you passed out from that tranquilizer–"

"That tends to happen."

"We turned the power back on, called for backup, and, yes, I slipped you one of your pills. Don't worry, you severely injured quite a few of them, but you didn't…" Judy sighed. "I knew what you wanted to do when I saw that look in your eye, but... we could have found another way. You put yourself in a lot of danger by doing that."

"And you. Don't forget you, Carrots."

"Why did you do that?"

"There was no way I was going to be able to fight that. So, I harnessed it. You may think otherwise, but there was no way out of that. We were surrounded, and I was already losing grip. I knew you'd find a way to help me."

"Doctor Andrew is coming." Judy looked down at her paws. "He says he may have the cure."

"When I called him, he said it might take months for one to be made."

Judy shrugged her shoulders, "He wouldn't explain anything, and I didn't ask. You can ask him when he gets here, I suppose."

Nick laid his head back and closed his eyes. He looked tired, upset, troubled by something. Judy watched patiently as he opened his eyes back up.

"Once I found out that I was the one who'd been behind the kidnappings, it all sort of clicked. It made sense. But after being gone for so long, it's like those memories faded. Like my brain recognized they weren't my own and deleted them. It's hard to form a cohesive thought about when I was actually the kidnapper, when I was that version of myself. But I think I can sort of remember how it felt. It was like watching a first person film. Like you were safely inside a theatre, watching these horrible things happen around you.

"But turning savage like that, it was similarly different, as weird as it sounds. I was... hungry. Hungry for blood. I could see everything happening, I couldn't control my body, couldn't feel any pain, but... I tasted the blood in my mouth when I bit them, felt satisfied when it touched my tongue. It sickened the part of me that was awake, but that predator in me, that savage part of me enjoyed it. Think of being without a meal for a year then getting a small crumb. It only makes you hungrier."

"Nick," Judy put her paw on his. "Stop. That's not who you are, you know that."

"But it's who I would have been centuries ago. It's who I became... yesterday, was it? Or what I became is more realistic."

"Listen to me, Nicholas Piberius Wilde, you are not a savage. You were infected by a serum that made you what it makes bunnies and anything that ingests it. You're a good mammal, Nick, a good friend... a good friend." Judy looked down, like she'd realized something, then shook it off. "You need to understand that you're not a monster. I don't care if you're a fox, or a hustler, or even a savage... you're Nick Wilde, and I... I care about you."

"I don't think I want to be a fox anymore." Nick didn't even seem to be talking to anyone but himself now. "I stopped wanting to be one when I left Zootopia."

"I don't understand."

"I didn't want to make so many jokes or be sly all the time. Then I felt bad that I started losing my jokes and sarcastic quips."

"You still made those when you came back."

"I know, it's just... it took me years to completely absorb that motto of not letting anyone see that they get to me. The best way to do that was to be cynical and sarcastic. A lot of the few mammals that wanted to be my friend, I ended up pushing away because they could never learn much about me, never really knew me. I never tried to be a friend, I just cared about myself and making enough money by hurting people.

"All I had was Finnick and my mother. Everyone else was just an associate, including Rick, as close as I am to him. Then what do you know, a rabbit comes into my life and becomes my best friend in the span of a few days. Of course, we took a good few months apart from each other after that conference, but still, we just became even better friends after that.

"And would you looked at me, a cynical, thirty-three year old fox, rambling to that very bunny like an old man in a home."

The fox chuckled at himself, staring up at the ceiling with that smile he always carried.

"You don't need to stop being a fox. In fact, being a fox that saves Zootopia, that was one of the best officers at the ZPD, that sets an example. One that will stop all foxes from having to go through the stuff you did."

"So, you basically want me to be you." He grew a toothy smile.

"No, Nick, I want you to be you. Be sly, make stupid jokes that get on my nerves. Trust me, I'll shoot back with some of my own."

Nick almost got one of those jokes out right then until Doctor Andrew came into the room, looking like he hadn't slept in days, but still seemed rather energetic.

"Mr. Wilde," said the antelope. "Good to see you're awake and... strapped down? How ridiculous. Let's say we get those straps off of your arms. How does that sound?"

"Like I'm going to have a needle in my arm. Jeez, Doc, straps, needles–you could at least take me to dinner first." And that was when Judy started to regret telling Nick to make those jokes.

"Yes, very amusing, Mr. Wilde," said Doctor Andrew in a very unenthusiastic voice. He reached into his coat and took out the very needle Nick assumed he was getting, taking the cap off of the slim metal needle and tapping the syringe.

After pushing slightly on it to make sure it worked, he wiped Nick's arm with a disinfectant, then inserted the needle promptly.

"I suppose this would be a bad time to ask if I'll have any undesirable side effects?"

"As with any medication, Mr. Wilde, but they will subside rapidly," Doctor Andrew removed the needle and put everything up. "I did get permission to give you this cure, by the way. I just figured I would come down personally so that some idiot wouldn't lose it." Andrew straightened his lab coat a bit. "I would assume it's safe to remove these straps now."

"Um," Nick said as Andrew started towards him. "I'm glad you're confident in your own work, Doc, but are you absolutely sure this will work? What if it's a dud?"

"Would you really like a scientific explanation to how I managed to procure your anecdote?" Andrew simply unhooked each strap, leaving Nick to sit up and rub at his wrists.

"Well, I'm no Peter Poker, but I like to learn new things."

"I wouldn't mind knowing either," Judy added.

"Well, in that case," Andrew cleared his throat. "First, I used the sample of your blood and cross-referenced it with the current nighthowler cure, as well as the blood of other victims. What I noticed about your blood was that the serum reproduced at a slow rate and merged with the nearest blood vessel. It managed to remain inside of it without the body recognizing it as a threat and sending white blood cells to attack it. After figuring this out, I simply used a similar effect with the cure. All I did was mutate the cure to where it would do the exact same thing: merge with your blood cells, or at least the ones that were infected. Each cell of the nighthowler serum won't be able to reproduce fast enough to continue infecting you." The doctor looked down at his watch. "Now, if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be. Congratulations, Mr. Wilde, and nice to see you again, Ms. Hopps." And with that, Andrew walked out of the room.

"That guy needs some sleep," Nick said with a raised eyebrow. Judy nodded in agreement. "And to stop drinking energy drinks. Honestly, that's why I stick with coffee."

Judy rolled her eyes, "I think it's time we get out of here. Let's sign you out and get something to eat."

"Wait," Nick said, hopping out of the bed. "What is the ZPD going to say about the majority of Prey being in the hospital?"

"Well, nobody knows the extent of their injuries, and they won't because that's classified information. It's not like the members of Prey can say anything, given that they're going to jail the moment they recover."

"And Suren?"

"Wasn't badly injured at all. He's already in lockup."

Nick and Judy both knew that they were still keeping a secret from Zootopia, but at this point, Mayor Lionheart had even told Chief Bogo that nobody was to know about Nick. For now, that was probably best. Right now, she just wanted to spend some time with her friend.

And hopefully, there would be no dramatic interruptions from some other anti-pred group.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The door opened, revealing the somewhat amused look on Nick's mother's face. Her free paw was firmly placed on her hip.

"Decided to visit your mother again?" she asked, keeping that amused look.

"I figured you'd like to see the handsome face you created," Nick smiled back at her, his ears flat against his head, embarrassment showing on his features.

"Mhm, I figure your girlfriend's been getting plenty of looks at the handsome face I created."

Nick's face fell into a look of annoyance. "She's a bunny, Mom."

"I don't judge." She walked to her kitchen and took two mugs out. "I'm just glad you finally got yourself a girl. I started to wonder if you'd ever date anyone for real."

"No, I mean, she's a bunny that I'm not interested in." He chuckled nervously. His mother had always been like this. If he so much as talked to a girl that she deemed acceptable, she'd hound him about being her 'boyfriend'.

"I'm just saying, that Judy Hopps sure kept you straight. She even got you out of that scamming stuff you always did. She's not bad looking either. So forgive me if I think something may be going on when you spend quite a few nights with her." Nick heard his mother laugh quietly to herself as she filled the two cups to the brim with coffee and set them on the table. Nick sat down across from her and sipped from his cup. "Okay, so you two aren't a thing. But after all that's been going on, I can only assume you had something to do with the capture of these Prey people? They were going after you, after all. It was you, right?"

"Yes, Mom," he said, tapping his claws gently on the mug, the clicking noise helping him think. "They were trying to find out who the infected mammal was. However, thanks to the brilliant work of a certain doctor, I no longer have that nighthowler junk in me."

"Well that's good," she said, her face growing worried. "So no more pills right?"

"No more pills."

"And I did work with the ZPD on helping them arrest Prey. It seems like I'm always finding my way back to them."

"So are you going to reinstate?"

Nick stared at his reflection in the black liquid in his cup, wondering who he was looking at for a second. He still had a lot to figure out about himself.

"Judy talked with me about that at dinner tonight." He leaned back and took a long, slow sip of coffee. "I just don't know. She says Bogo would have me back after all I did in helping arrest Prey, but I don't know if I should do it. What if something else happens and I end up putting the ZPD in danger again?"

"Is this about that whole 'telling the mayor to keep everyone quiet' thing?"

"I didn't tell the mayor to keep everyone quiet, I just... I just asked for him to let me go so I could get out of Zootopia. That lion has always tried to hard to be helpful to me. I wish I knew why." Nick saw his mother's face fall, and he knew she remembered that day. That day the mayor himself had come to tell them the news of his father's untimely death. To this very day, he still didn't know his real reason for doing that. Maybe the lion had something to relate to in the situation. "But he did make sure that nobody would ever find out that I was infected, so I am kind of the catalyst that pushed this whole mess into exploding."

"I've never been one to encourage lying, Nicky, you know that," his mother said, "but I think the mayor was pretty smart for saying that. I saw what Prey did, watched the news on T.V. This group was dangerous and willing to hurt a lot of innocent mammals. Stopping them was necessary. Telling everyone that they weren't lying about one of ZPD's officers being infected wasn't. It would make Prey seem more valid, which is dangerous. Nobody knows the backstory, how you got infected, or what you did to keep people safe from it. I know about the collar, Nick. Finnick told me about it."

Nick closed his eyes. Another perfect example of why he didn't usually trust anyone with sensitive information. "Did he tell you willingly?"

"I may have tricked it out of him. You can't out-sly a Wilde." She took a confident sip from her mug. "But telling Zootopia about your problem would have just caused unnecessary doubt. Foxes are hated enough as it is. Could you imagine what people would do when they found out a fox was infected and the ZPD knew? And that the ZPD didn't disclose the information? There are some things that mammals just shouldn't know."

"I guess I didn't think of it that way," Nick said. "Which is rare." He smiled at his mother.

"That's what I'm here for." She picked up his cup and her own to refill them. "Thinking of everything you don't. Relationships, for example." She refilled the cups and brought Nick his fresh cup of coffee.

"One thing at a time, Mom," said Nick, raising his cup in her direction. She picked up her own cup and they dinked the two together before heartily sipping on the delicious caffeinated liquid.

"Just saying, that bunny would make a good mother."

"Mom!"

The older looking fox simply shrugged her shoulders with a knowing smile, enjoying her son's embarrassment.

Judy sat back in her couch, feeling like she could finally breath, glad to be watching a movie on her TV without getting a mysterious broadcast. Dinner with Nick tonight had been fantastic, although she wished he hadn't convinced her to have that chocolate cake.

Of course, she was sure she'd done a bit of convincing herself that evening. She really hoped he'd reinstate. After everything that'd happened, including Stacy's resignation, it left a perfect spot for Nick as her partner.

Stacy. Judy hadn't heard a word from her– no text, no phone call. She wouldn't be surprised if the white wolf had left Zootopia. She forgave her, though. Yes, she'd worked for Prey, but... everyone deserved a second chance. Nick had been a con artist before becoming a police officer, and that change turned out pretty well, for the most part. He could have become the best officer at the precinct easily if it hadn't been for Bellwether.

Judy turned the TV off and sat there in the semi-darkness. The sun had almost set, and night would replace it soon enough. Judy was hoping that the night of Zootopia was over for now, and the sun would come out for a while. She'd gotten what she wished for: action. Now that she'd gotten her fill of it, she was quite certain that a nice long break from the action would be nice. At this point, even being a meter maid for a day or two didn't sound as horrible as it usually would.

She picked up her phone and glanced at it for any messages from Nick or even Stacy, only to see nothing but her lock screen, a picture of her with Nick. She specifically remembered that day. He'd prepared himself for a selfie, and she jumped in.

Literally.

She chuckled at it, then tossed her phone aside and got up for a glass of water. The moment she had a glass full of the clear, hydrating beverage, someone knocked at her door. The bunny smiled, ready to open up to see a smiling fox with food in his hand.

Of course, then she opened the door, and…

"Hey," Stacy said, looking quite nervous as she fiddled with her paws. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Oh yeah, you're interrupting my boredom. Come on in."

Judy walked to her couch, and the surprised Stacy stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

"You're just going to allow me inside of your apartment? After everything that happened?"

"Everything that happened. Like saving me from Nick when he went savage, like helping us escape from the room in the first place, for abandoning Prey to actually work for the ZPD? I'd say you deserve to come into my apartment."

Stacy took a seat on the couch next to Judy. "Chief Bogo told me about how you convinced him to pardon me."

"Uh huh."

"Look, I get that I helped out in the end, but don't you think I deserve some kind of punishment for what I did?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Stacy. And besides, if you want to be punished that badly, punish yourself, 'cause I'm a little too worn out to do anything besides be lazy." Judy couldn't believe she'd just said she wanted to be lazy, and meant it. "Or, if you really want a punishment, ask Clawhauser if you can see his Gazelle app."

Stacy burst out into laughter, and Judy just smiled from the contagious sound.

"Okay, so you forgive me, then. That's a relief."

"And I'm sure Nick's forgiven you, as well. You've talked to him too, right?"

Stacy's smile disappeared and she looked down at her paws, nervous once again.

"Well," the white wolf started. "It just so happens that our mutual fox friend is the reason why I'm here."

Judy blinked, "Oh?"

"Yeah," she said. "That guy really confuses me."

"He tends to have that effect on... well, everybody."

"I thought I hated all foxes, regardless of how good they seemed or claimed to be. I never thought I would be able to make an exception to that rule, especially as easily as I did."

"If there's a way to get you to like him, Nick will find it. Same goes for hating him."

"I never told you what happened to my family." She looked Judy in the eye. "Not everything."

"What do you mean?"

"The foxes that scammed us, made us lose everything, they decided that it wasn't enough. They didn't want any... loose ends, they…"

Judy could only watch as the wolf's mouth formed a deep frown, mixed into a cocktail of sadness and rage. Stacy relaxed, then opened her mouth to continue.

"You don't need to," Judy said. "If you don't want to. I know what you mean."

"Thanks," Stacy said, turning her head away for a second, wiping away some tears, then looking back at Judy. "I thought I would never be able to stop feeling so angry. Then that dumb fox rams into my life like that. Jeez, I barely even know him. We had an hour long conversation and dinner, and then another half an hour conversation on the way to my apartment, and I still know hardly anything about him."

"Another one of his talents."

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know why, but after seeing him, after realizing that not every fox in the world was some shady murderer, I... I don't know, I guess I just decided to forgive…"

"Forgive the foxes that…"

"I don't know, Judy, I really don't know." The wolf put her head in her hands and released an annoyed sigh. "All I know is that I forgave and felt better immediately after. Then Nick finds out it's nearly my birthday, and that cake came out and he looked so happy for me, like he actually cared that I was having a good time and wasn't just trying to prove that he wasn't untrustworthy." Stacy cleared her throat and sat up straighter. "I think I'm done now."

"So why are telling me all of this?" Judy asked. "Not that I don't appreciate that you trust me with all of this."

"I guess I just don't know what to say. I don't really know how I would talk to him."

"With Nick, you can't plan out what's going to happen. He's always one step ahead. You just learn to roll with the punches and turn what he says around on him when you can. It'll keep him amused, give him a challenge."

Stacy huffed a breath, resembling a breathy laugh. "Yeah, I guess I'll do that."

Judy extended her arms, and Stacy went in for a hug. So this was what it felt like. This was how it felt to have a friend that you could trust with absolutely anything. And maybe, if she was lucky, Stacy would realized that she had two friends tonight.

Nick walked into his room, having already wished his mother a good night and consumed his fourth cup of coffee. He probably wouldn't sleep anyway, not with all the excitement he'd gotten through. Besides, he liked staying up, even if it meant flipping through channels until the sun came up. He was nocturnal, after all.

He closed his door and flipped the light on, looking around at his room. The moment his eyes laid on the bed, the temptation to sleep became much stronger. As childlike as it felt, Nick jumped onto the bed face first, savoring the smell and feel of the clean sheets. He rolled over and closed his eyes, relaxing. His identity, his reputation, his friends, his mother, and his ability to stay in Zootopia were perfectly safe. It felt good to finally be done with all of this.

Suddenly, his phone started buzzing in his pocket. The fox casually took it out and answered the call without even looking at who it was.

"Hello?" he said into the speaker, expecting to hear the infuriating voice of a telemarketer trying to sell him some obnoxious product that no one had ever heard of or wanted to hear of.

"Hey, Nick," said the voice of Stacy over the phone. Nick froze for a second. He hadn't expected to hear from her again so soon.

"Hey, Snow," the fox said jovially. "How ya been?"

"I just wanted to say that–"

"You're sorry?"

There was a momentary silence before she said, "Okay, well... yeah, that's pretty much what I was going to say, but–"

"Trust me, I've been on both sides of the spectrum, I know what it's like going to the good side. You feel like you need to apologize to every mammal that will listen and feel horrible about what you did in the past. But let me be the first to tell you, Stacy, that the best way to make up for that is to do whatever you can to show that you're not bad anymore. As good as I am with words, they can only take you so far in convincing mammals that you can be more than what you are. Carrots had to show me that."

"Wow," Stacy said. "I... okay. Since when did you become a wise old fox?"

Nick chuckled. "Old doesn't have anything to do with it, sweetheart, but hey, you gotta respect your elders."

"Anyway, I guess that's it. You're really hard to surprise with anything, aren't you?"

"And I always will be. Goodnight, Stacy."

"Goodnight, Nick."

Nick hung up and smiled at his phone. Things were just getting better and better now. Maybe he wouldn't stay up late tonight. His eyes felt droopy, and his bed started getting more and more comfortable. With a stretch and a yawn, the fox curled up in his bed and let himself fall asleep. For the first time in a while, he would just sleep until noon, or whenever he decided he even wanted to get out of bed.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

For the first time in a long time, it felt like Nick could breath. He never took the time to stop and realize that he'd been freed from a prison, like weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

The fox leaned over the bridge that led to the very warehouse that had been blown up by Prey. Thanks to Judy's belief in pursuing dreams, the fox still had a small hope in the back of his mind that one day he would create Wild Times. Of course, he'd used up quite a bit of his savings when he'd been infected by the nighthowler serum, enough that he'd needed to rob those banks in the first place.

He sighed, realizing that he would have to start all over in saving up for his dream. He wasn't sure how Judy had such patience and determination. Of course, one day he would do it, though. He had to. If Judy believed in him, then that meant something. It meant that he could believe in himself.

"Hey, partner," said a voice. Nick saw the very bunny he'd been thinking about mimic his position, leaning against the bridge with him as much as her small body would allow. "You enjoying the silence?"

"Mm," he merely said. "I never realized that the whole time I'd been infected, I'd felt like I'd been fighting something. Didn't matter how strong it grew, it would gain strength so slowly that I wouldn't notice. Now, it's like every step I take is in anti-gravity."

"Sounds like fun," Judy said. "How're you enjoying your position as a free fox?"

Nick looked down at the badge on his chest, shining in a nice contrast to his blue police uniform.

"Feels like I'm a real cop now," he said. "How'd you always say it, Carrots? Making the world a better place? You bunnies are ambitious, I'll give you guys that. I mean, look at all the kids you have."

"Yep, making the world a better place." Judy nudged his arm. "One bad joke at a time."

Nick smiled down at her, and there was a comfortable silence between them, a moment where they just enjoyed each other's company. The sun shined on their fur, warming the both of them, making them both smile. Just like Judy had wanted, the sun had finally showed itself.

"So, let's get something straight here, Slick Nick," Judy said. "Where do we stand? We've both been beating around the bush, and now? Well, I don't think there's any bush left."

"I'd ask what you were talking about, but... I don't know. I'm still pretty back and forth about it." The fox started playing with his badge absentmindedly.

"The spontaneous romantic gestures were certainly nice. But then you'd say that we're nothing but friends. Everyone else seems to think we're more than that already."

Nick looked at her, really looked at her and thought. How did he feel about this bunny? Was she his friend and partner, or was she his partner in every sense of the word? Every day lately he'd asked himself the same question, and the answer was always one of the two, yes or no. The savage animal crawling inside of him for so long had been the crux of that whole crisis. And now… now that he could breathe… now that he could make his own decisions without the feeling of dread in his stomach… which way did he want to take his relationship with Judy?

He thought about kissing her, taking her out on romantic evenings, curling up on the couch with her and watching T.V. Those thoughts were pleasant. More than pleasant, really.

"What are your thoughts?" he asked the bunny, watching as she herself seemed to be struggling with the idea.

"At this point, I feel like we already are in a sense. But for now…"

They both looked at each other, their mouths opening at the same time.

"We should just stay friends."

They both smiled at each other, realizing that it was still very confusing, all of this, but with everything still simmering down, being just friends was the best.

For now.

The silence was disturbed by Judy's radio coming on.

"Jud–uh, I mean Hopps," Clawhauser said. "We have a robbery in progress at the Lemming Brother's Bank."

"Again?" Judy groaned. "Let me guess, Weaselton?"

"Not this time, Hopps. He's still in lockup."

"We've got this covered, Carrots," Nick walked past her casually, messing up the fur on her head. "Better hurry up, little bunny, foxes wait for no one."

Judy pulled up to the bank, the all-too-familiar sound of the alarm going off bypassing even their car's sirens.

"Jeez, I think they made this thing louder since last time," Judy said, her ears down to avoid having them in the direct path of the sound waves.

"Uh huh, yeah, that really bites, doesn't it?" Nick smiled at her, and Judy realized that he had plugs comfortably placed in his ears.

"You know what really bites?" Judy said. "A bunny without her own set of earplugs."

Nick just kept his smile as he tossed a spare set her way. She put them in and the two hopped out of the car with tasers in hand, ready to face whoever had decided to hit this bank.

"And this is why I sticked to hustling," Nick yelled over the siren. "Much quieter."

"Yeah, well–" Judy stopped in her tracks, her mouth wide open. She heard Nick laughing wildly beside her.

"Flash, Flash, hundred-yard dash! Man I know for a fact you're not serious about this!"

The sloth simply turned around at an agonizing pace, the mammals in the bank not even looking very worried.

"Bills... gotta... be... paid."


	28. Thank you!

I just want to thank everyone who's supported me throughout the publishing of my second story. Everyone who's been reviewing and reading encourages me to write even more. This is not the last story I will be making of Zootopia, though I am unsure as to whether I will continue this version. Then again, I might just continue it anyway. After all, Judy and Nick have some stuff they need to work through together. Who knows where they may lead.


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